{"id":2394987,"date":"2025-03-25T02:15:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-25T06:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/monetizemail.com\/magatoon\/?p=2394987"},"modified":"2025-03-25T06:54:27","modified_gmt":"2025-03-25T10:54:27","slug":"david-humes-stark-warning-reason-serves-passion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/monetizemail.com\/magatoon\/2025\/03\/25\/david-humes-stark-warning-reason-serves-passion\/","title":{"rendered":"David Hume\u2019s Stark Warning: Reason Serves Passion"},"content":{"rendered":"

David Hume\u2019s A Treatise of Human Nature<\/em><\/a> <\/em>has been called<\/a> \u201cone of the keystone books of western philosophy,\u201d \u201cthe founding document of cognitive science,\u201d and perhaps the \u201cmost important philosophical work\u201d in the English language.<\/p>\n

In my previous essay, David Hume on How Not to Lose Your Mind<\/a>, I considered how Hume\u2019s ideas anticipated modern neuroscience.<\/p>\n

For those who believe reason governs them, further consideration of Hume\u2019s philosophy exposes their arrogance.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing is more usual in philosophy, and even in common life,\u201d Hume wrote in his Treatise<\/em>, than to claim the \u201cpre-eminence of reason above passion.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

By passions, Hume means our predispositions, charged thinking, and emotions generated by beliefs of which we are often unaware. Hume argues, \u201creason alone can never produce any action, or give rise to volition.\u201d He adds, \u201cI infer, that the same faculty [reason] is as incapable of preventing volition, or of disputing the preference with any passion or emotion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hume argues our \u201cpassions\u201d come first, and then we use \u201creason\u201d to justify what our emotions have decided. We think reason drives our decision-making bus, but reason is often only a passenger.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When you let the implications of this sink in, it should bring your mind to a full stop. Hume challenges the assumption that we can rely on reason to manage our emotions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Authoritarian politicians know that arousing intense emotions, such as fear and hatred, is far more effective at galvanizing the public than reasoned debate. President Biden, for example, while in office, did his best to censor different opinions<\/a> about COVID vaccines while promising a \u201cwinter of\u2026 death<\/a>\u201d to the unvaccinated.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Similarly, your friend, colleague, or family member, driven by their passions, may never respond to reason until <\/em>you first stir their passion.<\/p>\n

Hume\u2019s memory of his \u201cpast errors\u201d and his \u201cnumberless [mental] infirmities\u201d made him \u201cdread\u201d the possibility of making still more errors. We, too, make one mistake after another, and reason doesn\u2019t keep us from yielding to our errant passions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hume makes what he calls an \u201cextraordinary\u201d claim: \u201cReason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions, and can never pretend to any other office than to serve and obey them.\u201d So, what could he or we do to separate ourselves from the dysfunctional dictates of our passions?\u00a0 What refines or tempers our passions?<\/p>\n

Hume allows that first we must \u201cperceive the falshood of any supposition\u201d that stirs our passions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In his later essay \u201cThe Sceptic<\/a>\u201d\u00a0 in his volume Essays, Moral, Political, and Literary, Part 1<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Hume outlines a robust solution of upgrading our conditioned programming. The goal is to achieve \u201ca lively sense of honour and virtue, with moderate passions.\u201d Then our \u201cconduct will always be conformable to the rules of morality; or if [we] depart from them, [our] return will be easy and expeditious.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Yet, not all people pursue virtue. Hume writes of such people:<\/p>\n

\n

Where one is born of so perverse a frame of mind, of so callous and insensible a disposition, as to have no relish for virtue and humanity, no sympathy with his fellow-creatures, no desire of esteem and applause; such a one must be allowed entirely incurable, nor is there any remedy in philosophy.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Hume\u2019s portrait of the unvirtuous is grim: \u201cHe feels no remorse to controul his vicious inclinations: He has not even that sense or taste, which is requisite to make him desire a better character.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hume himself wondered what can be done to reform such a person: \u201cShould I tell him of the inward satisfaction which results from laudable and humane actions, the delicate pleasure of disinterested love and friendship, the lasting enjoyments of a good name and an established character.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

For those who don\u2019t value virtue, Hume admitted, \u201cmy philosophy affords no remedy in such a case, nor could I do any thing but lament this person\u2019s unhappy condition.\u201d In short, no amount of pleading will convince them to cultivate virtue to temper their passions. Hume was under no illusions that good advice would quickly transform anyone.<\/p>\n

To those of us who are, in Hume\u2019s words, \u201ctolerably virtuous,\u201d Hume advised deepening the understanding of the conditions under which passions become more virtuous: \u201cIt is certain, that a serious attention to the sciences and liberal arts softens and humanizes the temper, and cherishes those fine emotions, in which true virtue and honour consists.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

As Hume\u2019s \u201ctolerably virtuous\u201d person studies, he develops \u201ca greater sensibility of all the decencies and duties of life. He feels more fully a moral distinction in characters and manners.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Suppose I am agitated by the speed at which\u00a0a supermarket clerk scans groceries. Although\u00a0reason comes up with an excuse\u00a0for my less-than-charitable thoughts, my non-virtuous passions drive my reaction. The more I study and reflect\u00a0on the inherent humanity in all people, the less likely I am to notice such trivia. As Hume writes, as soon as I discover the \u201cfalshood of [my] supposition,\u201d (in this case that\u00a0the clerk is a mere object to me), my judgment of the clerk falls away.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In Hume\u2019s view, our studies will teach us that \u201cthe mind is not altogether stubborn and inflexible, but will admit of many alterations from its original make and structure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hume advised the student of virtue to \u201cpropose to himself the model of a character\u201d and become \u201cwell acquainted with those particulars, in which his own character deviates from this model.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hume prescribed ongoing practice for those who want to avoid mistakes stirred by jealous passions: \u201cLet him keep a constant watch over himself, and bend his mind, by a continual effort, from the vices, towards the virtues; and I doubt not but, in time, he will find, in his temper, an alteration for the better.\u201d<\/p>\n

In short, \u201cexhortations\u201d are not enough. Instead, by working toward better habits and personal \u201creform,\u201d \u201cgood dispositions and inclinations\u201d are possible:<\/p>\n

\n

A man, who continues in a course of sobriety and temperance, will hate riot and disorder: If he engage in business or study, indolence will seem a punishment to him: If he constrain himself to practise beneficence and affability, he will soon abhor all instances of pride and violence.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Reading Hume, it is hard not to despair about the future of humanity. Unbridled passion is the norm on college campuses, and the canons of moral philosophy in Western civilization have been eliminated from curriculums.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In her book The Soul of Civility<\/em><\/a>,<\/em> Alexandra Hudson makes a stirring case for the classical education abandoned in today\u2019s public schools and universities. She observes that \u201cthe liberal arts and the humanities were the modes of education that made a person free and fit for citizenship.\u201d Such an education, Hudson writes, cultivated a \u201clove of virtue and the polis<\/em>, and by promoting the reason and self-governance\u2026 allowed people to move beyond being dominated by their own passions.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hudson recommends \u201cthe study of philosophy and literature, which exposes us to beauty, goodness, and truth.\u201d Such studies help us \u201cappreciate our own humanity, and that of others.\u201d\u00a0 Such curriculums soften \u201cthe rougher edges of our human nature, teaching those who studied it ways to pursue peace and harmony with others, and to avoid cruelty, violence, and conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n

Will we follow the wise prescriptions of Hume and Hudson before it is too late? A people without virtue, driven by unbridled passions, will not remain free.<\/p>\n

The post David Hume\u2019s Stark Warning: Reason Serves Passion<\/a> was first published by the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER)<\/a>, and is republished here with permission. Please support their efforts.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

David Hume\u2019s A Treatise of Human Nature has been called \u201cone of the keystone books of western philosophy,\u201d \u201cthe founding document of cognitive science,\u201d and perhaps the \u201cmost important philosophical work\u201d in the English language. In my previous essay, David Hume on How Not to Lose Your Mind, I considered how Hume\u2019s ideas anticipated modern …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":146,"featured_media":2324418,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2394987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/monetizemail.com\/magatoon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2394987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/monetizemail.com\/magatoon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/monetizemail.com\/magatoon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monetizemail.com\/magatoon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/146"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monetizemail.com\/magatoon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2394987"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/monetizemail.com\/magatoon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2394987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2394988,"href":"https:\/\/monetizemail.com\/magatoon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2394987\/revisions\/2394988"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monetizemail.com\/magatoon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2324418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/monetizemail.com\/magatoon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2394987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monetizemail.com\/magatoon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2394987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monetizemail.com\/magatoon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2394987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}