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
All sentiment is right; because sentiment has a reference to nothing beyond itself, and is always real, wherever a man is conscious of it. But all determinations of the understanding are not right; because they have a reference to something beyond themselves, to wit, real matter of fact; and are not always conformable to that standard.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Sentiment is inherently valid, as it exists in our consciousness, while understanding may not always align with reality.
David Hume's quote suggests that our feelings and sentiments are valid in themselves, existing independently within our consciousness. In contrast, our judgments and understanding, which aim to refer to external realities, are not always accurate because they rely on external facts that can be misinterpreted or misunderstood. This insight emphasizes the complexity of human perception and the distinction between emotional truth and factual accuracy.
Themes
SentimentUnderstandingRealityPhilosophyConsciousness
In practice
Example use cases
In a philosophical discussion about the nature of emotions versus reason.
More from David Hume
All quotes →Eloquence, 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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