David Hume - Part 2: The Fragile Foundations of Knowing

Picture a child watching a spark leap from a fire, or a farmer planting seeds with hope that the sun and rain will return. We trust that what has happened will happen again, that cause leads to effect, that the future echoes the past. But what if none of this is guaranteed by reason—only by habit?David Hume’s central insight is usually called skepticism, but that word misses the peculiar force of his challenge. Hume did not deny that people know things. He did not claim that all certainty is lost. Instead, he asked what, exactly, justifies our most confident beliefs—about cause, about the self, about right and wrong. His answer is not comforting. Our trust in causation, our sense of self, and even our moral judgments are not anchored in pure logic. They are the products of the mind’s natural propensities and habits, not of demonstration.Learn more at: https://thephilosophyarchive.com/philosophy/david-humeThe Philosophy Archive is part of The Archive Network by Jonkai Ventures, a collection of podcasts dedicated to exploring the great ideas and thinkers that shaped how we think.Support the podcast and access exclusive content on Patreon:https://thearchivenetwork.com/supportDiscover more archives and stories:https://thearchivenetwork.comExplore this archive:https://thephilosophyarchive.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.