David Hume Quotes

Intuition does not in itself amount to knowledge, yet cannot be disregarded by philosophers and psychologists.

However logical our induction, the end of the thread is fastened upon the assurance of faith.

The things of which we want the proof are those we know the best.

Intuition and concepts constitute... the elements of all our knowledge, so that neither concepts without an intuition in some way corresponding to them, nor intuition without concepts, can yield knowledge.

The clouds may drop down titles and estates, and wealth may seek us, but wisdom must be sought.

Knowledge, may it be said, is higher than magic and is more to be sought. It is quite possible to see what is happening and yet not know what is forward, for while seeing is believing, it does not follow that either seeing or believing is knowing.

I don't know if there's such a thing as objectivity.

I think that reality exists and that it's knowable.

Knowing demands the organ fitted to the object.

All our knowledge begins with the senses, proceeds then to the understanding, and ends with reason. There is nothing higher than reason.

There's nothing you can know that isn't known.

Opinion is the medium between knowledge and ignorance.

Thoughts without content are empty, intuitions without concepts are blind

Knowledge goes hand and hand with truth.

In truth, opinion may be taken for understanding; understanding cannot be taken for opinion. How so? Surely because opinion may be deceived; understanding cannot be. If it could, it would not be understanding but opinion. For true understanding has not only certain truth, but the knowledge of truth.

It's one thing thinking something and another thing knowing it.

Intuition is for thinking what observation is for perception. Intuition and observation are the sources of our knowledge.

I would proclaim that the vast majority of what [say, Scientific American] is true-yet my ability to defend such a claim is weaker than I would like. And most likely the readers, authors, and editors of that magazine would be equally hard pressed to come up with cogent, non-technical arguments convincing a skeptic of this point, especially if pitted against a clever lawyer arguing the contrary. How come Truth is such a slippery beast?

The typical person has no trouble believing without knowing. What people need to realize is simply that you do not need to believe to know.

Did they know why they knew? Not at all. But the Knew!

There are, in effect, two things, to know and to believe one knows; to know is science; to believe one knows is ignorance.

Knowledge being to be had only of visible and certain truth, error is not a fault of our knowledge, but a mistake of our judgment, giving assent to that which is not true.

All knowledge degenerates into probability.

Implication is thus the very texture of our web of belief, and logic is the theory that traces it.

Logic is the foundation of the certainty of all the knowledge we acquire.