Your corn is ripe today; mine will be so tomorrow. 'Tis profitable for us both, that I should labour with you today, and that you should aid me tomorrow.
David HumeRead
Disbelief in futurity loosens in a great measure the ties of morality, and may be for that reason pernicious to the peace of civil society.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Disbelief in the future undermines moral responsibility and can harm society's stability.
David Hume's quote explores the idea that if individuals do not believe in the future consequences of their actions, they may act without moral restraint. This lack of accountability can lead to disruptions in social order, as morality is often tied to the understanding that our actions have lasting effects beyond the immediate present.
Themes
MoralityFutureSocietyResponsibilityCivilDisbelief
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about ethical decision-making, one could reference this quote to highlight the importance of considering the long-term effects of our actions.
More from David Hume
All quotes βEloquence, at its highest pitch, leaves little room for reason or reflection, but addresses itself entirely to the desires and affections, captivating the willing hearers, and subduing their understanding.
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All that belongs to human understanding, in this deep ignorance and obscurity, is to be sceptical, or at least cautious, and not to admit of any hypothesis whatever, much less of any which is supported by no appearance of probability.
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The great end of all human industry is the attainment of happiness
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There is a very remarkable inclination in human nature to bestow on external objects the same emotions which it observes in itself, and to find every where those ideas which are most present to it.
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To have recourse to the veracity of the supreme Being, in order to prove the veracity of our senses, is surely making a very unexpected circuit.
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