You Should Read David Hume | The Greatest Scottish Philosopher
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ค. 2024
- In this video, I'm going to provide a very brief guide to reading David Hume (1711-1776) . Hume is a Scottish philosopher who lived in the early modern period and wrote about many important subjects, including the nature of the human mind, ethical theory, and political theory.
In this video, I go over some of Hume's most important texts, the Treatise and the Enquiry. I also recommend three secondary texts to help you read and understand David Hume.
Enjoy!
Recommendations:
Stanford Encyclopedia: plato.stanford.edu/entries/hume/
Early Modern Texts: www.earlymoderntexts.com/auth...
Don Garret's Cognition and Commitment (ISBN: 978-0195159592)
Norman Kemp Smith's The Philosophy of David Hume (ISBN: 978-1403915078)
I'm a self taught philosophy student. Hume and Schopenhauer are my favorites. Among Hume's books I find his Dialogues a delightful masterpiece.
Thanks for this video.
The Classical Mind should be getting more recognition. Philosophy is an academic discipline that people should give more emphasis to in their own respective lives. It’s something that also brings us closer to the truth, which is very fascinating, the more you think about that.
How are you in every comment section woah; alqays making great points!
Take A Moment
Thinking about it 🤔
Your format is very good 👍 thx
Or, closer to the great questions.
I have to admit, this channel is the best thing in yt, thank u for your content!!!
I remember reading a few of Hume's essays on Luxury and on Contract Theory for two separate classes, and just being so relieved (we read him immediately after heavy doses of Rousseau and Hobbes in both classes). He's genuinely a delight to read. I put him with Plato and Niethzche as the most readable of philosophers without sacrificing any content.
Love that perspective of anyone who has a secondary education and is willing to put in the work can read and understand these complex works
Read a few essays by Hume and his writing style was just a breath of fresh air.. such a clear thinker. think ima pick up treatise on human nature now
@ 4:00
This is incredibly motivating. Especially since I have seen it true through my own efforts. I appreciate you saying this about reading hard books. It really does payoff.
In the “Five Foot Shelf Harvard Collection” there is book dedicated to Locke, Hume and Berkeley, and the preread notes talk about Hume’s Enquiry being the more mature version to read. I appreciated that each book has guided reading and that you even pointed out the same.
I have now watched each of your videos and I am beyond impressed. This is what I want to be doing. I am not as big as you yet and cannot believe how fast you have grown. If you are willing to chat or share your story, I would love that very much.
James Harris’s intellectual biography of Hume is quite good & insightful from what I can remember; and for those interested in the friendship of David Hume and Adam Smith, I would recommend Rasmussen’s “The Infidel & the Professor” as a starting point. Great video & channel! 👏
P.S. I almost forgot! There is an article, or a book (I don’t quite remember at this point) by MA Stewart called “Hume’s Intellectual Development” which interestingly explores some influences on Hume, including the Ancients, but also some protestant influences and, of course, the impact of Newton. There is another GREAT book titled” Hume & Hume’s connections” which explores, among other things, the Influence of Francis Hutcheson and the politics behind Hume’s failed attempt to become a Professor of Moral Philosophy at Edinburgh.
Great work! Thank you.
Thank you for the Stanford Encyclopedia and Project Gutenberg. I am smiling from the gutter at the beginning of a journey towards philosophy
I'm so glad to stumble in this channel can I ask about upaniṣad and why many philosophers influence by this book I try to grasp something in those in the book but it's fade away everytime I try to understand it, it's hard for me can you do mabye a video about it in future
I absolutely love your videos! I think there so much value in them and I can perceive the incredible passion you have for philosophy. It is so inspiring to watch your videos. It pushes me to read more.
You said you favourite philosopher is Aristotle and that statement intrigues me. Have you done any video on Aristotle? I am a lawyer and I think I could benefit a lot from reading his works but at the same time I have a pragmatical approach that makes me suspicious about devoting so much time and efforts to read some of his works (i.e., not sure I want to read physics, his books on animals and metaphysics. I am more interested in organon and rethoric).
I would love to have your opinion on what are the best works of aristotle for a lawyer!
In case there's any mistake that's probably cause I am not an english native speaker
Self taught! That’s me! 😊 this channel is for me.
If you are interested in political theory and practice, as well as in economics, I found Hume's essays (Liberty Fund is the best edition) very rewarding. On economics and social science, Hume's Treatise and his essays are excellent. Hume's best friend Adam Smith then wrote two great works, A Theory of Moral Sentiments, and The Wealth of Nations that are complimentary.
If you want to then understand Burke, I would recommend you first read Hume's essays, as well as Simon Schama's book "Citizens" first, and then go on to Reflections on the Revolution in France.
He is one of my top. He goes with Quine, G.E.Moore, Robert Nozick.
I’d be interested if you have any thoughts on Bergson, I read time and free will and it blew my mind and I know he influenced a lot of other philosophers but he’s not talked about as much
2:34 "You should read this book" ... was that not a violation of Hume's is-ought gap ?
Hi Jarred! I am a self-thought philosophy learner. Would you recommend to start from the original books or the secondary (commentary) books for beginners? Thanks!
I always recommend primary sources. You could find commentaries to help you along, but in my opinion the bulk of your reading should be primary sources.
These videos have made me more interested in self learning philosophy but I am confused on where to start. Are there any philosophers works I should start off with or should I just start reading something that sounds interesting to me?
@@_jared thank you! I was planning to start with the Greeks so I'll go with Plato. I am interested in non-Western works though. I'm not sure if you focus on Eastern/Asian philosophy but I'd love to see some recommendations.
Either way love the videos, thanks again.
I recommend non-philosophers start with the Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding. It's more accessible, and some of Hume's most out there views in the Treatise are abandoned in the Enquiry. It's also the work that Hume considered his "final say" on the relevant topics.
I have relied heavily on Amazon for a variety of purchases. Do yo mean to imply that books on Amazon including those by David Hume and the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy are rewrites, or in some other way contaminated? If so, where can one find these texts and be sure what I am purchasing are legitimate?
He is just ... The Greatest Philosopher (so far) ... no problem :-)
How to get started as self taught?
Christopher Hitchens' favourite philosopher, if I remember correctly.
Ok I gotta ask, what happened to the left glass of your eye glasses? Are those water droplets?
I like your videos, but I wish you would give more of a summary of the type of philosophy each book contains, maybe some of the key points or topics covered. Like, why are reading these books so important?
And I'm fully aware that I could just look it up, maybe find another video, but I just think that info might be compelling and more helpful for people who don't have any experience in philosophy, which seems like your target audience.
Again, love the videos, just trying to give constructive criticism.
How to start reading David hume ?
Дякую!
Дуже цікаве та корисне відео!
is there a complete edition of his work?
@@_jared thanks! His major works are all translated in Brazil with very nice editions. I always prefer reading in paper, but I believe with him it might be easier to go digital for the original text. Tks!
Have you checked out michael sugrue? His lectures are amazing, and the hume one is a pretty good overall run through
Sugrue is essentially the goat lol
Where on-line is the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy accessed free of charge, sir?
@@_jared Thank you, sir. What is your name so that I can address you properly?
Keep pressing on ! Your work is invaluable.
Would you say Robert Greene is the new David Hume?
Hume was called The Great Nihilist. They named the street he lived on Saint David Street. The intellect is servant to the emotions, Not original to Hume but his most profound quote.
I'm confused by the "surprisingly modern" comment considering Hume lived during the early 18th century when people like Jonathan Edwards, John and Charles Wesley, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin were his contemporaries. Other than slang and accents, the language really hasn't changed much since the transition from Middle to Modern English in the late 14th century.
Now I know who William Blake was responding to when he said, "There is no natural religion."
Scotus eriugena is the greatest Scottish philosopher
@Jared I enjoyed your video but I disagree strongly with your take on Hume. I'm a Newtonian and so I believe Hume's attack on Newton fails. I would suggest you read the paper Hume's Attack on Newton's Philosophy by Eric Schliesser. In the Treatise, Hume sought to undermine Newton by attacking all of the tools Newton used: observation, reason, causation and geometry. If Hume had actually conducted any experiments, he might have changed his mind earlier on these subjects. The problem for Hume is that he did not have the advantage of a full education. He dropped out of University of Edinburgh before completing classes in natural philosophy and geometry. Hume learned about geometry by reading the lectures of Isaac Barrow, but he never had the advantage of a geometry professor who could grade his tests and papers and show him his errors. And the same is true in natural philosophy. When Hume wrote his Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, he left out some of his errors and did not claim that geometry was imprecise. He only said it could not be used to demonstrate anything, but he never supported the claim. I'm thankful people are still using geometry to prove things. Hume also showed awareness of objects having causal powers: food can nourish, water can suffocate, fire can consume, gunpowder has chemical energy, and yet Hume still taught that we cannot observe causation. That's a bizarre and ridiculous notion. We all observe causation hundreds of times a day. So, Hume was uneducated and was a bad philosopher. But you are correct that Hume has an entertaining writing style.
I am skeptical about reading philosophers such as Hume and Kant for this reason. First, as noted in the video, it takes hard work to understand what they are saying, which would be ok if what they said had any current credibility. But, just think about what these philosophers did not know. They had no knowledge of anthropology, knew relatively nothing of psychology or biology, especially the brain, and nothing of evolution. Given this, why does it make sense to study Hume’s theory about ideas and impressions or Kant’s arguments about rationality? If someone can help with this, I would appreciate it.
HI Mark, Here an analogy, lets say I am a keen amateur baker. I could never get canapes right, they were always a bit soggy in the centre. Then I realised that if I used vodka instead of water to make the pastry they dried out faster and the bake was more successful. Now let's say I strode onto a podium and said "Vodka not water", most people would wonder what the hell I was talking about; however if the audience were all experienced bakers they might get the point. That's the thing about philosophy, you can't really appreciate modern philosophers unless you have some understanding of the origins of their ideas. EG: Wittgenstein'.s Tractatus, it's absolutely unreadable unless you have a grasp of its conceptual origins. Don't know if this helps...
PS: I know that Hume is being canceled in Scotland for some of his views, such as taking the piss out of every other race on the planet. However, that's a bit daft, it's like discovering that Einstein was a notorious flasher. It's disgusting but it has no bearing on his important thoughts.
Hegel is the GOAT
Ew
@@leo32190 you speak womanese
Every book held up in this video looked brand new and unread, and every comment about Hume and the commentaries was generic. One analysis being that the font was very small. Apart from the sign-post to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, which most philosophy students should already be aware of, then I'm afraid there is very little of note in this 11 minute presentation.
Nietzsche brought me to Schopenhauer. Schopenhauer brought me here.
You don't become a better wrestler by wrestling easy opponents just like you don't become a better reader by reading easy books.
He's the one who influenced Kant, who then tranformed and shaped modernity and the intellectual way of the West until today...influenced wrongly in my opinion..
But he is so pessimistic.. and I think he's somewhat arrogant!
Hume's biggest impact on me, personally, is with his takes on moral philosophy. It was the first time I read someone who didn't attempt to impose/endorse/prescribe an axiological system or specific moral foundation.
Instead, he offers kind of a phenomenology of the human experience of adjudicating conflicting values. Moral sentiments. Ftw
Hume is the English version of Kant...insofar as anyone who wants to claim ANY expertise in modern philosophy MUST be able to confront his positions. (he is NOT Kant, thankfully, when it comes to his eminently readable prose. I still have PTSD from Critique of Pure Reason)