Talk:David Hume

induction not evolutionary
The claim at the end of the problem of induction section that "This is the closest thing possible during his (pre-Darwinian) time to an evolutionary account of our inductive tendencies, and Hume here has lit on a central feature in any properly atheistic Science of Man, placing him firmly in the naturalist tradition of great thinkers."

seems to be POV espescially without a source It is also innaccurate as it seems to suggest some innate ideas about induction which contradicts hume's blank slate idea of the mind. We may well read evolution into his account and he probably would have too had he known of it but there's no indication that this occurred to him.

Humeanism
The article does not currently contain mention of Humeanism, minimal Humeanism, Anti-Humeanism, and other related topics of interest to philosophers, particularly those interested in quantum mechanics. Since several such philosophers are notable enough to be included in WP (which can be verified by searching WP), and since Humeanism is a relevant aspect of QM research today (example citation: Australasian Journal of Philosophy), I hope that someone knowledgeable would add a short overview to this article soon, and at least the stub of an article on the subject. David Spector (talk) 16:42, 16 March 2021 (UTC)

Conservatism/Liberalism
I noticed that the template in the Political Theory section was changed from Liberalism to Conservatism overnight and there did not seem to be much of a discussion in the Talk page. Since Hume seems to have traits of both liberalism and conservatism, perhaps it is best to remove the template altogether and add both Liberalism and Conservatism to his main interests. Here is the revision in question.

Supilusikas (talk) 09:26, 28 October 2021 (UTC)


 * That sounds like something someone from the US would do. They use the words "conservative" and "liberal" in strange ways there. Corrupt Cactus (talk) 00:28, 20 November 2022 (UTC)

English
David Hume (/hjuːm/; born David Home; 7 May 1711 NS (26 April 1711 OS) – 25 August 1776)[10] was a Scottish Enlightenment philosopher, historian, economist, librarian[11] and essayist, who is best known today for his highly influential system of philosophical empiricism, skepticism, and naturalism.[1] Beginning with A Treatise of Human Nature (1739–40), Hume strove to create a naturalistic science of man that examined the psychological basis of human nature. Hume argued against the existence of innate ideas, positing that all human knowledge derives solely from experience. This places him with Francis Bacon, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and George Berkeley as a British Empiricist.[12] 36.37.193.3 (talk) 04:32, 24 February 2022 (UTC)

Effect of Hume's views on slavery sentence
The article states that Hume's 'views served to reinforce the institution of racialised slavery in the later 18th century'. I know that this is a quote from an academic, however it seems empty without explaining how Hume's ideas "reinforced" slavery. I find it quite unlikely that Hume's philosophy had any impact on the "reinforcing" of atlantic slavery, which had been an established institution for over 200 years. Knoterification (talk) 05:45, 5 July 2022 (UTC)
 * I read the article, which is by an expert on Hume. He is not referring to Hume's philosophy pe se, but his comment that 'negroes are naturally inferior to whites'. However the author does not say how this view of Hume's (hardly uncommon at the time) actually had any effect on slavery. A plausible mechanism would be if, for example, the opponents of abolition cited the great David Hume in their defence, and this was effective. But the author does not say that, so we are left in the dark. The writer also seems to confuse the slave trade with slavery, saying Hume was involved in the former by way of encouraging his patron to buy a slave plantation, which is just lazy. The two are - and were seen as - distinct, hence the different abolition dates. It would not surprise me if the claim about Hume's views affecting slavery was just as dubious. But what do we do? he is an expert. Note: I edited your comment because the title you gave it was way too long. LastDodo (talk) 11:50, 23 February 2023 (UTC)