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David Hume, est un philosophe, économiste et historien écossais. Il est considéré comme un des plus importants penseurs des Lumières écossaises et est un des plus grands philosophes et écrivains de langue anglaise. Fondateur de l'empirisme moderne , l'un des plus radicaux par son scepticisme, il s'opposa tout particulièrement à Descartes et aux philosophies considérant l'esprit humain d'un point de vue théologico-métaphysique : il ouvrit ainsi la voie à l'application de la méthode expérimentale aux phénomènes mentaux.

Son importance dans le développement de la pensée contemporaine est considérable : Hume eut une influence profonde sur Kant, sur la philosophie analytique du début du XXe siècle et sur la phénoménologie. On ne retint pourtant longtemps de sa pensée que son supposé scepticisme ; mais les commentateurs de la fin du XXe siècle se sont attachés à montrer le caractère positif et constructif de son projet philosophique. Sa philosophie étant toujours efficiente, il est précurseur de disciplines qui naîtront bien plus tard comme les sciences cognitives. Wikipedia  

✵ 26. avril 1711 – 25. août 1776
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David Hume: 143   citations 0   J'aime

David Hume citations célèbres

“Il est difficile de parler de soi longtemps sans vanité.”

David Hume

“Il n’est pas contraire à la raison que je préfère la destruction du monde entier à l’égratignure de mon doigt. Il n’est pas contraire à la raison que je choisisse ma ruine totale pour empêcher le moindre déplaisir d’un Indien ou d’une personne qu’est m’est entièrement inconnue. Il est même aussi peu contraire à la raison que je préfère un bien reconnu moindre à un bien supérieur et que j’ai une ardente affection pour le premier plutôt que pour le second. Un bien banal peut, en certaines circonstances, produire un désir supérieur à ce qui provient de la jouissance la plus grande et la plus estimable. Il n’y a rien de plus extraordinaire en cela que ce qu’on voit en mécanique, un poids d’une livre soulever un poids de cent livres par l’avantage de sa situation. En bref, une passion doit être accompagnée d’un faux jugement pour être déraisonnable et, même alors, ce n’est, à proprement parler, la passion qui est déraisonnable, c’est le jugement.”

David Hume livre Traité de la nature humaine

Traité de la nature humaine, 1739-40

“Toute connaissance dégénère en probabilité.”

David Hume

“L’homme est un être raisonnable; et, comme tel, il reçoit de la science sa nourriture propre et son aliment, mais les frontières de l’entendement humain sont si resserrées qu’on ne peut espérer sur ce point que peu de satisfaction pour l’étendue et pour la sécurité de ses acquisitions.”

David Hume livre Enquête sur l'entendement humain

Enquête sur l’entendement humain, 1758

“Soyez philosophe; mais, au milieu de toute votre philosophie, soyez toujours un homme.”

David Hume livre Enquête sur l'entendement humain

Enquête sur l’entendement humain, 1758

David Hume: Citations en anglais

“At present they [philosophers] seem to be in a very lamentable condition, and such as the poets have given us but a faint notion of in their descriptions of the punishment of Sisyphus and Tantalus. For what can be imagin'd more tormenting, than to seek with eagerness, what for ever flies us; and seek for it in a place, where 'tis impossible it can ever exist?”

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David Hume livre Traité de la nature humaine

Part 4, Section 3
A Treatise of Human Nature (1739-40), Book 1: Of the understanding

“The most perfect philosophy of the natural kind only staves off our ignorance a little longer: as perhaps the most perfect philosophy of the moral or metaphysical kind serves only to discover larger portions of it. Thus the observation of human blindness and weakness is the result of all philosophy, and meets us at every turn, in spite of our endeavours to elude or avoid it.”

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David Hume livre Enquête sur l'entendement humain

Section 4 : Sceptical Doubts Concerning The Operations of The Understanding
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (1748)

“But though all the general rules of art are founded only on experience and on the observation of the common sentiments of human nature, we must not imagine, that, on every occasion, the feelings of men will be conformable to these rules.”

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David Hume livre Four Dissertations

Four Dissertations (1757)

“The sense of justice and injustice is not deriv'd from nature, but arises artificially… from education, and human conventions.”

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David Hume livre Traité de la nature humaine

Part 2, 1.17
A Treatise of Human Nature (1739-40), Book 3: Of morals

“Here am I who have written on all sorts of subjects calculated to excite hostility, moral, political, and religious, and yet I have no enemies — except, indeed, all the Whigs, all the Tories, and all the Christians.”

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David Hume

Statement to a friend shortly before his death, as recounted in Men of Letters by Lord Henry Brougham

“The heroes in paganism correspond exactly to the saints in popery, and holy dervises in MAHOMETANISM. The place of, HERCULES, THESEUS, HECTOR, ROMULUS, is now supplied by DOMINIC, FRANCIS, ANTHONY, and BENEDICT. Instead of the destruction of monsters, the subduing of tyrants, the defence of our native country; whippings and fastings, cowardice and humility, abject submission and slavish obedience, are become the means of obtaining celestial honours among mankind.”

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David Hume The Natural History of Religion

Part X - With regard to courage or abasement
The Natural History of Religion (1757)

“All sentiment is right; because sentiment has a reference to nothing beyond itself, and is always real, wherever a man is conscious of it. But all determinations of the understanding are not right; because they have a reference to something beyond themselves, to wit, real matter of fact; and are not always conformable to that standard.”

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David Hume livre Essays, Moral, Political, and Literary

Part I, Essay 23: Of The Standard of Taste
Essays, Moral, Political, and Literary (1741-2; 1748)

“For do our Theologians pretend to make a monopoly of the word, action, and may not the atheists likewise take possession of it, and affirm that plants, animals, men, &c. are nothing but particular actions of one simple universal substance, which exerts itself from a blind and absolute necessity?”

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David Hume livre Traité de la nature humaine

Part 4, Section 5
A Treatise of Human Nature (1739-40), Book 1: Of the understanding

“THERE is no method of reasoning more common, and yet none more blameable, than, in philosophical disputes, to endeavour the refutation of any hypothesis, by a pretence of its dangerous consequences to religion and morality.”

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David Hume livre Enquête sur l'entendement humain

Of Liberty and Necessity, Part II (http://www.bartleby.com/37/3/12.html)
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (1748)
Contexte: THERE is no method of reasoning more common, and yet none more blameable, than, in philosophical disputes, to endeavour the refutation of any hypothesis, by a pretence of its dangerous consequences to religion and morality. When any opinion leads to absurdities, it is certainly false; but it is not certain that an opinion is false, because it is of dangerous consequence. Such topics, therefore, ought entirely to be forborne; as serving nothing to the discovery of truth, but only to make the person of an antagonist odious.

“The heights of popularity and patriotism are still the beaten road to power and tyranny; flattery to treachery; standing armies to arbitrary government; and the glory of God to the temporal interest of the clergy.”

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David Hume livre Essays, Moral, Political, and Literary

Part I, Essay 8: Of Public Credit (This appears as a footnote in editions H to P. Other editions include it in the body of the text, and some number it Essay 9.)
Essays, Moral, Political, and Literary (1741-2; 1748)

“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.”

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David Hume livre Enquête sur l'entendement humain

Section 12 : Of the Academical or Sceptical Philosophy Pt. 3
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (1748)

“The very port and gait of a swan, or turkey, or peacock show the high idea he has entertain'd of himself; and his contempt of all others. This is the more remarkable, that in the two last species of animals, the pride always attends the beauty, and is discover'd in the male only. The vanity and emulation of nightingales in singing have been commonly remark'd […] All these are evident proofs, that pride and humility are not merely human passions, but extend themselves over the whole animal creation.”

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David Hume livre Traité de la nature humaine

Part 1, Section 12
A Treatise of Human Nature (1739-40), Book 2: Of the passions

“Ignorance is the mother of Devotion: A maxim that is proverbial, and confirmed by general experience. Look out for a people, entirely destitute of religion: If you find them at all, be assured, that they are but few degrees removed from brutes. What so pure as some of the morals, included in some theological system? What so corrupt as some of the practices, to which these systems give rise?”

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David Hume The Natural History of Religion

Part XV - General corollary
The Natural History of Religion (1757)

“Art may make a suit of clothes; but nature must produce a man.”

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David Hume livre Essays, Moral, Political, and Literary

Part I, Essay 15: The Epicurean
Essays, Moral, Political, and Literary (1741-2; 1748)

“With regard to politics and the character of princes and great men, I think I am very moderate. My views of things are more conformable to Whig principles; my representation of persons to Tory prejudices. Nothing can so much prove that men commonly regard more persons than things, as to find that I am commonly numbered among the Tories.”

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David Hume

E. C. Mossner, Life of David Hume (Clarendon Press, 2001), p. 311.

“The Christian Religion not only was at first attended with miracles, but even at this day cannot be believed by any reasonable person without one. Mere reason is insufficient to convince us of its veracity: and whoever is moved by Faith to assent to it, is conscious of a continued miracle in his own person, which subverts all the principles of his understanding, and gives him a determination to believe what is most contrary to custom and experience.”

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David Hume livre Enquête sur l'entendement humain

Section 10 : Of Miracles Pt. 2
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (1748)

“As to the Approbation or Esteem of those Blockheads who call themselves the Public, & whom a Bookseller, a Lord, a Priest, or a Party can guide, I do most heartily despise it.”

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David Hume

Letter 138, To Gilbert Elliot of Minto; August 9, 1757

“There is nothing in any object, consider'd in itself, which can afford us a reason for drawing a conclusion beyond it; […] even after the observation of the frequent or constant conjunction of objects, we have no reason to draw any inference concerning any object beyond those of which we have had experience.”

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David Hume livre Traité de la nature humaine

Part 3, Section 12
A Treatise of Human Nature (1739-40), Book 1: Of the understanding

“The slaving Poor are incapable of any Principles: Gentlemen may be converted to true Principles, by Time and Experience. The middling Rank of Men have Curiosity and Knowledge enough to form Principles, but not enough to form true ones, or correct any Prejudices that they may have imbib’d: And ’tis among the middling Rank, that Tory Principles do at present prevail most in England.”

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David Hume livre Essays, Moral, Political, and Literary

Part I, Essay 9: Of The Parties of Great Britain; final lines of this essay in the 1741 and 1742 editions of Essays, Moral and Political, they were not included in later editions.
Essays, Moral, Political, and Literary (1741-2; 1748)

“If the material world rests upon a similar ideal world, this ideal world must rest upon some other; and so on, without end. It were better, therefore, never to look beyond the present material world. By supposing it to contain the principle of its order within itself, we really assert it to be God; and the sooner we arrive at that Divine Being, so much the better. When you go one step beyond the mundane system, you only excite an inquisitive humour which it is impossible ever to satisfy.”

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David Hume livre Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion

Philo to Cleanthes, Part IV
Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (1779)

“For my part, when I enter most intimately into what I call myself, I always stumble on some particular perception or other, of heat or cold, light or shade, love or hatred, pain or pleasure. I never can catch myself at any time without a perception, and never can observe any thing but the perception. When my perceptions are remov’d for any time, as by sound sleep; so long am I insensible of myself, and may truly be said not to exist. And were all my perceptions remov’d by death, and cou’d I neither think, nor feel, nor see, nor love, nor hate after the dissolution of my body, I shou’d be entirely annihilated, nor do I conceive what is farther requisite to make me a perfect non-entity. If any one upon serious and unprejudic’d reflexion, thinks he has a different notion of himself, I must confess I can reason no longer with him. All I can allow him is, that he may be in the right as well as I, and that we are essentially different in this particular. He may, perhaps, perceive something simple and continu’d, which he calls himself; tho’ I am certain there is no such principle in me… But setting aside some metaphysicians of this kind, I may venture to affirm of the rest of mankind, that they are nothing but a bundle or collection of different perceptions, which succeed each other with an inconceivable rapidity, and are in a perpetual flux and movement.”

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David Hume livre Traité de la nature humaine

Part 4, Section 6
A Treatise of Human Nature (1739-40), Book 1: Of the understanding

“The great end of all human industry, is the attainment of happiness. For this were arts invented, sciences cultivated, laws ordained, and societies modelled, by the most profound wisdom of patriots and legislators.”

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David Hume livre Essays, Moral, Political, and Literary

Part I, Essay 16: The Stoic
Essays, Moral, Political, and Literary (1741-2; 1748)

“By liberty, then, we can only mean a power of acting or not acting, according to the determinations of the will.”

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David Hume livre Enquête sur l'entendement humain

§ 8.23
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (1748)

“And any practice, recommended to him, which either serves to no purpose in life, or offers the strongest violence to his natural inclinations; that practice he will the more readily embrace, on account of those very circumstances, which should make him absolutely reject it. It seems the more purely religious, because it proceeds from no mixture of any other motive or consideration. And if, for its sake, he sacrifices much of his ease and quiet, his claim of merit appears still to rise upon him, in proportion to the zeal and devotion which he discovers. In restoring a loan, or paying a debt, his divinity is nowise beholden to him; because these acts of justice are what he was bound to perform, and what many would have performed, were there no god in the universe. But if he fast a day, or give himself a sound whipping; this has a direct reference, in his opinion, to the service of God. No other motive could engage him to such austerities. By these distinguished marks of devotion, he has now acquired the divine favour; and may expect, in recompence, protection and safety in this world, and eternal happiness in the next.”

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David Hume The Natural History of Religion

Part XIV - Bad influence of popular religions on morality
The Natural History of Religion (1757)

“Love in animals, has not for its only object animals of the same species, but extends itself farther, and comprehends almost every sensible and thinking being. A dog naturally loves a man above his own species, and very commonly meets with a return of affection.”

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David Hume livre Traité de la nature humaine

Part 2, Section 12
A Treatise of Human Nature (1739-40), Book 2: Of the passions

“Grief and disappointment give rise to anger, anger to envy, envy to malice, and malice to grief again, till the whole circle be completed.”

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David Hume livre Traité de la nature humaine

Part 1, Section 4
A Treatise of Human Nature (1739-40), Book 2: Of the passions

“Any question of philosophy … which is so obscure and uncertain, that human reason can reach no fixed determination with regard to it; if it should be treated at all; seems to lead us naturally into the style of dialogue and conversation.”

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David Hume livre Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion

Pamphilus to Hermippus, Prologue
Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (1779)

“That the sun will not rise to-morrow is no less intelligible a proposition, and implies no contradiction, than the affirmation, that it will rise.”

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David Hume livre Enquête sur l'entendement humain

§ 4.8
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (1748)

“People who invented the word charity, and used it in a good sense, inculcated more clearly, and much more efficaciously, the precept, Be charitable, than any pretended legislator or prophet, who should insert such a maxim in his writings.”

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David Hume livre Essays, Moral, Political, and Literary

Part I, Essay 22: Of the Standard of Taste
Essays, Moral, Political, and Literary (1741-2; 1748)

“And why should man, added he, pretend to an exemption from the lot of all other animals? The whole earth, believe me, PHILO, is cursed and polluted. A perpetual war is kindled amongst all living creatures. Necessity, hunger, want, stimulate the strong and courageous: Fear, anxiety, terror, agitate the weak and infirm. The first entrance into life gives anguish to the new-born infant and to its wretched parent: Weakness, impotence, distress, attend each stage of that life: and it is at last finished in agony and horror.”

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David Hume livre Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion

Demea to Philo, Part X
Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (1779)

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