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David Hume Quotes - Page 4

All Quotes Affection Age Ambition Appearance Arrogance Art Atheism Beauty Belief Character Common Sense Constitution Corruption Country Curiosity Death Desire Determination Doubt Empathy Enthusiasm Ethics Evil Experience Feelings Friendship Genius Giving God Happiness Heart History Honesty Human Nature Humility Ignorance Imagination Imperfection Judgement Judgment Justice Knowledge Labor Learning Liberty Life Lying Mankind Morality Nature Office Pain Painting Passion Past Perception Philosophy Pleasure Praise Purpose Quality Reality Reflection Religion Revenge Running Science Sorrow Soul Spring Study Truth Understanding Universe Virtue War Weakness

That the sun will not rise tomorrow is no less intelligible a proposition, and implies no more contradiction, than the affirmation, that it will rise.

That the sun will not rise tomorrow is no less intelligible a proposition, and implies no more contradiction, than the affirmation, that it will rise.

Selfless, Sun, Tomorrow

David Hume (2016). “An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding: Revision of Great Book”, p.19, VM eBooks

Such is the nature of novelty that where anything pleases it becomes doubly agreeable if new; but if it displeases, it is doubly displeasing on that very account.

Novelty, Please, Accounts

David Hume (1862). “Essays moral, political, and literary. (Life of the author, etc.).”, p.30

When I turn my eye inward, I find nothing but doubt and ignorance. All the world conspires to oppose and contradict me; though such is my weakness, that I feel all my opinions loosen and fall of themselves, when unsupported by the approbation of others.

Fall, Eye, Ignorance

David Hume (2015). “A Treatise of Human Nature: Top Philosophy Collections”, p.203, 谷月社

A propensity to hope and joy is real riches; one to fear and sorrow real poverty.

Real, Joy, Sorrow

David Hume (1788). “Essays, moral, political, and literary.- v. 2. An inquiry concerning human understanding. A dissertation on the passions. An inquiry concerning the principles of morals. The natural history of religion”, p.152

He is happy whom circumstances suit his temper; but he Is more excellent who suits his temper to any circumstance.

Happiness, Suits, Excellent

Character is the result of a system of stereotyped principals.

Philosophical, Character, Results

Human Nature is the only science of man; and yet has been hitherto the most neglected.

Philosophical, Men, Human Nature

David Hume (2015). “A Treatise of Human Nature: Top Philosophy Collections”, p.209, 谷月社

Belief is nothing but a more vivid, lively, forcible, firm, steady conception of an object, than what the imagination alone is ever able to attain.

Vivid Imagination, Able, Belief

David Hume, Tom L. Beauchamp (2000). “An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding: A Critical Edition”, p.39, Oxford University Press

Look round this universe. What an immense profusion of beings, animated and organized, sensible and active! You admire this prodigious variety and fecundity. But inspect a little more narrowly these living existences, the only beings worth regarding. How hostile and destructive to each other! How insufficient all of them for their own happiness! How contemptible or odious to the spectator! The whole presents nothing but the idea of a blind Nature, inpregnated by a great vivifying principle, and pouring forth from her lap, without discernment or parental care, her maimed and abortive children.

Nature, Children, Science

David Hume (1874). “A Treatise on Human Nature: Being an Attempt to Introduce the Experimental Method of Reasoning Into Moral Subjects; and Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion”, p.452

I am ready to reject all belief and reasoning, and can look upon no opinion even as more probable or likely than another.

Looks, Belief, Opinion

David Hume (2016). “Delphi Complete Works of David Hume (Illustrated)”, p.244, Delphi Classics

Mankind are so much the same, in all times and places, that history informs us of nothing new or strange in this particular. Its chief use is only to discover the constant and universal principles of human nature.

History, Principles, Use

David Hume (1788). “An inquiry concerning human understanding. A dissertation on the passions. An inquiry concerning the principles of morals. The natural history of religion”, p.90

The Christian religion not only was at first attended with miracles, but even at this day cannot be believed by any reasonable person without one.

Christian, Religious, Miracle

An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding "Of Miracles" (1748)

What a peculiar privilege has this little agitation of the brain which we call 'thought'.

Philosophical, Brain, Agitation

David Hume (1854). “The Philosophical Works”, p.438

Reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions.

Philosophy, Passion, Slave

A Treatise upon Human Nature bk. 2 (1739)

.. the voice of nature and experience seems plainly to oppose the selfish theory.

Selfish, Voice, Ethics

David Hume (1768). “An enquiry concerning human understanding. A dissertation on the passions. An enquiry concerning the principles of morals. The natural history of religion”, p.296

And what is the greatest number? Number one.

Philosophical, Numbers, Competition

Rousseau was mad but influential; Hume was sane but had no followers.

Mad, Followers, Influential

"A History of Western Philosophy". Book by Bertrand Russell, Book Three, Part I, Chapter 17. Hume, 1945.

Nothing endears so much a friend as sorrow for his death. The pleasure of his company has not so powerful an influence.

Powerful, Sorrow, Influence

David Hume (1875). “Essays Moral, Political, and Literary”, p.263

How can we satisfy ourselves without going on in infinitum? And, after all, what satisfaction is there in that infinite progression? Let us remember the story of the Indian philosopher and his elephant. It was never more applicable than to the present subject. If the material world rests upon a similar ideal world, this ideal world must rest upon some other; and so on, without end. It were better, therefore, never to look beyond the present material world.

Elephants, Looks, Stories

David Hume (2013). “Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion”, p.31, Courier Corporation

This avidity alone, of acquiring goods and possessions for ourselves and our nearest friends, is insatiable, perpetual, universal, and directly destructive of society.

Possession, Goods, Insatiable

David Hume, Geoffrey Sayre-McCord “Moral Philosophy”, Hackett Publishing

Truth is disputable, not human taste.

Taste, Truth Is, Humans

There has been a controversy started of late, much better worth examination, concerning the general foundation of Morals; whether they be derived from Reason, or from Sentiment; whether we attain the knowledge of them by a chain of argument and induction, or by an immediate feeling and finer internal sense; whether, like all sound judgement of truth and falsehood, they should be the same to every rational intelligent being; or whether, like the perception of beauty and deformity, they be founded entirely on the particular fabric and constitution of the human species.

Intelligent, Perception Of Beauty, Judgement

I never asserted such an absurd thing as that things arise without a cause.

God, Causes, Absurd

The great end of all human industry is the attainment of happiness

Ends, Attainment, Humans

David Hume (1826). “The philosophical works of David Hume”, p.167

Habit may lead us to belief and expectation but not to the knowledge, and still less to the understanding, of lawful relations.

Expectations, Understanding, May

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