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An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding
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"An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding" Quotes

David Hume's "An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding" critically examines the nature and limits of human knowledge, emphasizing empirical evidence and skepticism about causation and induction.

Quotes

Custom, then, is the great guide of human life.

David Hume

customhuman behavior

In our reasonings concerning matter of fact, there are all imaginable degrees of assurance, from the highest certainty to the lowest species of moral evidence.

David Hume

reasoningevidence

Reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions, and can never pretend to any other office than to serve and obey them.

David Hume

reasonpassion

Belief is more properly an act of the sensitive, than of the cogitative part of our natures.

David Hume

beliefsenses

All events seem entirely loose and separate. One event follows another; but we never can observe any tie between them.

David Hume

causalityevents

The rules of morality are not the conclusions of our reason.

David Hume

moralityreason

It is impossible, therefore, that any arguments from experience can prove this resemblance of the past to the future.

David Hume

experiencefuture

All reasonings concerning matter of fact seem to be founded on the relation of cause and effect.

David Hume

reasoningcause and effect

The chief obstacle to our improvement is the difficulty of producing an entire and perfect uniformity among human sentiments.

David Hume

improvementsentiments

Every judgment of conscience, be it right or wrong, be it about things divine or human, is nothing but a determination of the mind.

David Hume

consciencejudgment