100+ Powerful David Hume Quotes on Human Nature, Reason & Skepticism

"A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence."

"The greatest blindness is that of those who will not see."

"Skepticism is the first duty of philosophy."

"We are certain of nothing but our own perceptions."

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

"There is no method more effectual of curing ignorance than that of increasing knowledge."

"The more I dive into metaphysics, the more I am lost in wonder and uncertainty."

"All knowledge degenerates into probability."

"It is impossible for us to judge concerning the origin of worlds without having ever seen them formed."

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

"Truth springs from argument amongst friends."

"Doubt is disagreeable, but certainty is ridiculous."

"Man is more a creature of feeling than of reason."

"The heart of man is the place where all the contradictions meet."

"Nothing is more surprising than the easiness with which the many are governed by the few."

"We speak not strictly and philosophically when we talk of the combat of passion and reason."

"All sentiment is right; because sentiment has a reference to nothing beyond itself."

"The identity we ascribe to humans over time is merely a fiction of the imagination."

"Pleasure and pain are the great movers of mankind."

"How little is required to satisfy the mind, if it be natural and easy!"

"Men are not capable of friendship without society."

"We are nothing but a bundle or collection of different perceptions."

"The affections are not tied down by rules of duty."

"Human happiness and misery are woven with the same threads."

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

"Truth is discovered by the comparison of ideas or by the observation of matters of fact."

"The understanding is the servant of the will."

"No passion can be restrained by force of reason."

"Logic is the anatomy of thought."

"The most perfect philosophy of the natural kind only staves off our ignorance a little longer."

"Belief is more an act of the sensitive than the cognitive part of our natures."

"The will never is affected by arguments."

"Philosophy, even in its most refined state, is only a more intense exercise of common sense."

"Truths reached through emotion often outweigh those derived from logic alone."

"Passion drives action; reason merely maps the route."

"We act not because we know, but because we feel."

"Morality is determined by sentiment, not by reason."

"Virtue is praised not because it is useful, but because it is delightful."

"It is not contrary to reason to prefer the destruction of the whole world to the scratching of my finger."

"The moral sentiments are impressions, not ideas."

"Justice is an artificial virtue, not a natural one."

"Generosity is always accompanied with kindness."

"Our obligations to justice take place only when society demands them."

"The rules of morality are not conclusions of reason."

"Benevolence is the source of half the virtues."

"Sympathy is the great cement of society."

"Moral distinctions are not derived from reason."

"The heart corrects the errors of the head."

"All our ideas are copies of our impressions."

"We may define a cause to be an object followed by another, and where all objects similar to the first are followed by objects similar to the second."

"Necessity is something in the mind, not in objects."

"The connection between cause and effect is not discoverable by reason."

"Experience only teaches us how one event follows another."

"The idea of causation is derived entirely from experience."

"We cannot penetrate the reasons of the most trivial phenomena."

"Nature will always maintain her rights, and prevail in the end over any abstract reasoning."

"Uniformity of nature is assumed, not proven."

"We believe in the future conformity of events to past experience."

"Custom is the principle that guides our judgments about cause and effect."

"The sun will rise tomorrow because it always has."

"The greater part of religion is mere enthusiasm and imposture."

"Religion is born of fear and ignorance."

"The design argument proves at most the existence of a limited and imperfect deity."

"Miracles are violations of the laws of nature."

"No testimony is sufficient to establish a miracle."

"The whole of natural theology rests on a weak foundation."

"Priests are the principal authors of superstition."

"Faith is contrary to reason and good sense."

"The attributes of God are contradictory and incomprehensible."

"Devotion is often madness in disguise."

"The world's order arises from natural causes, not divine design."

"Superstition disfigures human nature."

"Government is instituted to restrain the vices of men."

"The science of man is the only solid foundation for the other sciences."

"Public spirit is often a mask for private interest."

"The happiness of the majority is the standard of justice."

"Liberty is the perfection of civil government."

"Tyranny is the worst form of government, but anarchy is worse."

"The interests of men are the basis of political society."

"Law and order are essential to the preservation of peace."

"Power naturally tends to accumulate in the hands of the few."

"Commerce promotes manners and civility."

"A free government is the best security of liberty and property."

"The voice of the people is not always the voice of reason."

"All knowledge resolves itself into probability."

"The merit of every book is so different from the current opinions of the multitude that one must use one's own judgment."

"The ease, the grace, the clearness of expression add mightily to the value of a work."

"To be fully acquainted with a subject, one must view it on all sides."

"Ignorance is preferable to error."

"The most trifling causes appear to produce some alteration in the passions."

"Philosophy teaches us to rest content with our lot."

"The pursuit of truth should be disinterested and impartial."

"Books that aim at destroying old errors may be good, but those that would inspire new certainties are dangerous."

"The learned are proud of their knowledge, the wise of their ignorance."

"Understanding is slow, but prejudice is swift."

"Knowledge is power, but wisdom is tranquility."

"Happiness is a harmony between man and his life."

"The true art of living lies in viewing things as they are."

"Indolence is sweet, but it is deadly to the soul."

"The chief ingredient of happiness is freedom from anxiety."

"Life is a journey, not a destination."

"Contentment is independent of external fortune."

"The pleasures of the imagination are superior to those of sensation."

"A calm temper and a clear head are the foundations of lasting joy."

"Health is the first of all liberties."

"Friendship multiplies our joys and divides our sorrows."

"The business of life is to enjoy it."

"To love and admire, to be happy and satisfied—this is the essence of life."

"The imagination is the master of illusion."

"Ideas are faint images of sensations."

"The creative faculty is the most powerful part of the mind."

"Fiction is more engaging than truth."

"The mind loves to wander in the realm of possibilities."

"Thought follows the direction of custom and habit."

"Imagination supplies what experience lacks."

"The liveliness of imagination distinguishes belief from fiction."

"Memory and imagination blend imperceptibly."

"All invention is but a new combination of old ideas."

"The strength of thought lies in clarity and simplicity."

"Philosophy begins in wonder, and wonder is the offspring of imagination."