Take a photo of a barcode or cover
108 reviews for:
Enquiries Concerning the Human Understanding: And Concerning the Principles of Morals
David Hume
3.78 AVERAGE
108 reviews for:
Enquiries Concerning the Human Understanding: And Concerning the Principles of Morals
David Hume
3.78 AVERAGE
The book that made me become a philosophy major, too bad he was a massive racist.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
I enjoyed the straightforward, no-nonsense style of this famous philosopher. Good though he is, however, his vision of life is that of pure empiricism - that all real knowledge is gained only through sense contact. In other words he appears to completely disregard a vital aspect of the human consciousness, i.e. the possibility of gaining knowledge through contemplating the mind itself, for instance through the practice of mindfulness and meditation. Furthermore he discounts the possibility of recognizing causality, asserting that we only know that 'b' follows 'a'; we cannot know, he asserts, that 'b' is caused by 'a', or that in the presence of 'a', 'b' always arises, and in 'a's absence it does not. He thus demolishes the whole basis of modern science, together with the most basic formulation of the understanding of what it is to be a wise human being able to affirm the knowledge that flows from a healthy mind untramelled by scepticism.
"Be a philosopher; but, amidst all your philosophy, be still a man"
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
The argument in this book is very clear, however, Hume tends to be a little repetitive. He gives a lot of examples, which is nice as the reader will understand his theory a lot better. However, I feel like he often repeated a sentence by rephrasing it, so he ended up saying the same thing ten times in a row.
I did enjoy reading it though. Especially after reading Descartes' Meditations it was quite refreshing.
I did enjoy reading it though. Especially after reading Descartes' Meditations it was quite refreshing.
Two things that stands out in this installment is: causality and limitations of imaginations and human observation. Though Hume starts out saying how unlimited and infinite imagination is, he adds a caveat in his typical subtle fashion stating how the limitation to this imagination comes from both creative and knowledge of a person. Without both in right measures, it's possible the imagination is limited and perhaps incomplete. Kinda how science fiction goes hand in hand with social and technological advances.
Hume talks about causality in a very fascinating way linking fiction and belief to this small space in our consciousness that mutates over time.
A fascinating read indeed.
Hume talks about causality in a very fascinating way linking fiction and belief to this small space in our consciousness that mutates over time.
A fascinating read indeed.