#david hume

[philosophybits]

Indulge your passion for science, says [Nature], but let your science be human, and such as may have a direct reference to action and society. Abstruse thought and profound researches I prohibit, and will severely punish, by the pensive melancholy which they introduce, by the endless uncertainty in which they involve you, and by the cold reception which your pretended discoveries shall meet with, when communicated.

David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding

[egoschwank]

al things considered — when i post my masterpiece #1628

first posted in facebook august 1, 2026

"generally speaking, the errors in religion are dangerous; those in philosophy only ridiculous' … david hume

"the way you wear your hat, the way you sip your tea, the mem'ry of all that -- no, no! they can't take that away from me!" … ira gershwin

"generally thinking, the wearing of hats is divine; but those worn by david hume only ridiculous" … al janik

[el-candelabro]

Juicios morales sin argumentos: la psicología del desconcierto moral El desconcierto moral revela por qué condenamos ciertos actos intuitivamente aunque no podamos justificar racionalmente esa condena.... https://revistaliterariaelcandelabro.blog/2026/07/desconcierto-moral-intuicion-y-juicio-etico/

Juicios morales sin argumentos: la psicología del desconcierto moral

[philosophybits]

It is custom alone, which engages animals, from every object, that strikes their senses, to infer its usual attendant, and carries their imagination, from the appearance of the one, to conceive the other, in that particular manner, which we denominate belief. No other explication can be given of this operation, in all the higher, as well as lower classes of sensitive beings, which fall under our notice and observation.

David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding

[kakashihasibs]

I watched frieren but when I was only a few episodes in my husband was like, "I heard that show is racist." And I'm like yeah definitely in the same way most fantasy stories are. All the important characters have a pale complexion, the shows pretends that a medieval world it's loosely based on never would have brown or black people. And he's like yeah but I meant there racism /in/ the show. And yup boy howdy does it get weird about the demons.

(I put a cut bc I got long winded 😔)

The demons seems at once to literally just beasts/monsters and another species of People who just happens to have a very dysfunctional social "order" and are very hostile to any other species of People. Like even Vampires seem to have less complicated theory of mind in their lore.

Frieren discribes the demons has having learned to speak only to better lure in other People who they eat. As in their seeming ability for complex language is mere mimicry.

Even the demons spoke about themselves this way. However, to me, that would suggest meta-cognition and they clearly were thinking about other people's thoughts which means they have a theory of mind. Granted, this is not unique to People and it shows up in predators across the animal kingdom bc it helps with hunting. All of that is to say dismissing demons' language abilities as mere mimicry seems completely off base. Their language of choice might have been stratgic, but the ability is there and could have applied to any language including a native one. Especially since they do have an organized society.

Frieren's take really reminds of my David Hume. He's an empirist. He claimed everything you know you only know through experience. So you only know you exist bc you have experience existing.

Hume ran into the problem of you can't experience other people's mind's so who do you know they have them? Well I can't remember what exactly he said but a lot of people go for the argument from analogy. I know how I react and feel to and about certain things and I see how other people react and show their emotions (which is about the same as me) so they must also have a mind. That's the long and the short of it.

EXCEPT Hume was a horrible racist. He had a footnote in one of his books that most undergrads don't read in their intro classes. This fucking footnote is one of the few (maybe only iirc) times he mentions his racist opinion. He talks about how he has heard of a black man, Francis Williams, a polymath in Jamaica, but it must be a trick, like a parrot who speaks. Extremely racist. Denying the evidence directly in front of him just bc of who Williams is.

On top of all of this im not sure they should be written off as innately hostile. The example Frieren gave of the humans' trying to raise the child demon was interesting. One the kid know well enough that she would not survive a fight with the whole village, so she had no reason to attack and lie about it. I do think she was being honest when she said she noticed how much the parents of the died child hated her. Two there is a clear gaping difference in cultural normals and expectations in demon society and human society. You take a kid raised in a might is right society and start trying to teaching human morals there is going to be misunderstandings.

The kid was taught to repair wrongs. She took the parents' kid. They clearly need a new kid. So she gave them one. One misstep in the process of unlearning the violence she came from and they fucking killed her! If she wanted to kill for herself I'm pretty sure it would have been to eat someone.

The only other thing that stands out to me as weird is the demons turn into mana particles when they die. Only the "monsters" of the world do that. But what comes 1st? Be a thing that is a monster or being a thing that turns into mana particles? If a new but-leaves-you-alone-if-you-leave-it-alone- species (so effectively peaceful) of like large bird showed up would people know it is a monster right away or not until it is observed dying and turning into mana particles?

What causes one to turn into mana particles? Is it the relationship the being has with mana? So would Frieren Potentially turn into mana particles? Is it the types of actions a magical being does? Like if a good demon existed would they leave remains but if a truely evil human mage existed would they turn into mana particles? Or is it really just that things are ontologically monsters/evil and only they turn into mana particles?

[frogick27]

Первое что то по типу мема, но потом я обдумала это и мне показалось неуважительно к труду и выводам Юма, потому решила добавить пояснение (а верхнее сильно сжатое обобщение, возможно кому-то лучше поможет понять его мнение), это не оправдывает и я не высмеиваю Юма (чёрт возьми я очень им восхищаюсь…!), просто минутка несерьёзности

[artofthepossible1871]

Anyone know a story that takes Hume or Kant as actually true?

[philosophybits]

Men begin at the wrong end of this question concerning liberty and necessity, when they enter upon it by examining the faculties of the soul, the influence of the understanding, and the operations of the will. Let them first discuss a more simple question, namely, the operations of body and of brute unintelligent matter; and try whether they can there form any idea of causation and necessity, except that of constant conjunction of objects, and subsequent inference of mind from one to another.

David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding