Hume’s dislike of big, simplifying, theories carries an important lesson for today’s debates about human nature, morals and religion.
In other words: Hume never accepted or assumed more than his argument required.
One neglected but distinctive theme is the subject of this lecture: his economy in arguing for exactly what he needed, but no more. Hume’s radical philosophy has many sides, and has been subject to scholarly debates ever since he published his main works. It is not reason, traditionally seen as a direct gift from God, but our biological human nature, characterized by emotions, instinct, custom and convention that explain our systems of knowledge, morality and society. Empiricist, critic of religion, sceptic as well as historian and political essayist, Hume has shaped our thinking on all these topics, defending a view on human nature and society as historically and evolutionary evolved. Griph-lecture 2015 organized by the Faculty of Philosophy in cooperation with Studium Generale Groningenĭavid Hume (1711-1776) is a towering figure in the history of philosophy, who wrote extensively on human nature, on morals and on religion.
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