David Hume
Heaven and hell suppose two distinct species of men, the good and the bad. But the greatest part of mankind float between vice and virtue.
A purpose, an intention, a design, strikes everywhere even the careless, the most stupid thinker.
There is an inclination in human nature to bestow on external objects the same emotions which it observes in itself.
David Hume (1711 – 1776) was a Scottish philosopher known for his philosophical empiricism and scepticism. In stark opposition to the rationalists, he concluded that desire rather than reason governed human behaviour. He also argued against the existence of innate ideas, concluding instead that humans have knowledge only of things they directly experience.
– Explore further –
Listen to Paul Russell on David Hume's Treatise