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107 reviews for:
Enquiries Concerning the Human Understanding: And Concerning the Principles of Morals
David Hume
3.77 AVERAGE
107 reviews for:
Enquiries Concerning the Human Understanding: And Concerning the Principles of Morals
David Hume
3.77 AVERAGE
“When we run over libraries, persuaded of these principles, what havoc must we make? If we take in our hand any volume; of divinity or school metaphysics, for instance; let us ask, Does it contain any abstract reasoning concerning quantity or number? No. Does it contain any experimental reasoning concerning matter of fact and existence? No. Commit it then to the flames: For it can contain nothing but sophistry and illusion” - David Hume
Big day finally finished reading this! I feel like he does a good job of explaining why he thinks what he thinks and it’s a good introductory piece. definitely was over due reading this and enjoyed the new (and often reinterpreted lens) on how emotion effects rational thinking.
I was quite surprised at how I really enjoyed and appreciated this. I have never been a fan of philosophers from this time period so I thought reading Hume was going to be a hassle, but on the contrary, I flew through it! The ideas he proposes still are present today in many fields of study. It just shows how timeless his philosophy is.
David Hume (1711-1776) was the most famous Scottish philosopher of the Scottish Enlightenment and one of the greatest thinkers of all time. He wrote An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding in 1774. This was actually a simplified, more easy to understand version of his famous work, A Treatise of Human Nature . An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding was more accessible to people of the day and is also for us modern folks.
Hume addresses a number of subjects in this book. Particularly interesting to me were his examination of the reason of animals, and criticism of religion and validity of miracles. He touches on a wide variety of philosophical subjects including free will, how thoughts associate and flow, probability, and he ends with a really interesting three part examination of skeptical arguments. Like Thomas Paine, he was ahead of his time and through his writings encouraged people to reject dogma and adopt science and reason.
I visited his mausoleum in Edinburgh in 2018 and my wife and I always stop by and say hello to his statue on the Royal Mile, just down the hill from Edinburgh Castle. He's one of my freethinker heroes.
Hume addresses a number of subjects in this book. Particularly interesting to me were his examination of the reason of animals, and criticism of religion and validity of miracles. He touches on a wide variety of philosophical subjects including free will, how thoughts associate and flow, probability, and he ends with a really interesting three part examination of skeptical arguments. Like Thomas Paine, he was ahead of his time and through his writings encouraged people to reject dogma and adopt science and reason.
I visited his mausoleum in Edinburgh in 2018 and my wife and I always stop by and say hello to his statue on the Royal Mile, just down the hill from Edinburgh Castle. He's one of my freethinker heroes.
By far the most rigorous and effective philosopher of the early modern era, and, in my opinion, one of the most profound thinkers of all time.
It’s not hyperbolic to assert Hume’s philosophy anticipates analytic philosophy, a lot of psychology, and an astonishing amount of modern neuroscience. His thinking was clear, honest, and unafraid.
Many philosophers have tried to write treatise on human understanding - all failed, except Hume. He spares none in his attacks on our presumptions to know anything: how can we proclaim to know of a heaven if we don’t know why a billiard ball rolls when hit by another?
Every philosophically interested person ought to read him
It’s not hyperbolic to assert Hume’s philosophy anticipates analytic philosophy, a lot of psychology, and an astonishing amount of modern neuroscience. His thinking was clear, honest, and unafraid.
Many philosophers have tried to write treatise on human understanding - all failed, except Hume. He spares none in his attacks on our presumptions to know anything: how can we proclaim to know of a heaven if we don’t know why a billiard ball rolls when hit by another?
Every philosophically interested person ought to read him
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Hume is very easy to read, at least for me, and that made him one of the easiest philosophers for me to discuss in class. Whether I agree with him or not (I still have issues with his reliance on what is popular), I always enjoy picking him up and reading his views.
The book that awoke Kant from his slumbers David Hume's Enquiry concerning Human Understanding. A major argument is that our belief in induction is merely habit and repetition there is no logical reason behind causes we merely see events associated with each other we don't see causes we simply call them causes by habit. The turkey associates the farmer coming out each morning with being fed every day that is until the day before thanksgiving. Hume also questions the cartesian cogito. Hume believes when he introspects that there are thoughts and sensations but not a self that is manifest in those thoughts just a stream of consciousness. Needless to say, this stuff scared the hell out of Kant allow Hume was quite comfortable with the habits of common sense and didn't worry too much about these profound lacuna he just enjoyed a good game of billiards and a nice meal.
I am uncertain about the implications of these ideas, but Hume is convincing, presents them well.
Hume deals with many of the philosophical problems still confounding philosophers in the 20th century and in many cases, I believe produces answers better than conceived since he introduced many of the questions.