David Hume Quotes

Do not believe just because you want to believe.

Do you come to a philosopher as to a cunning man, to learn something by magic or witchcraft, beyond what can be known by common prudence and discretion?

God forbid that Truth should be confined to Mathematical Demonstration!

Scientific research can reduce superstition by encouraging people to think and view things in terms of cause and effect.

I have been too long acquainted with human nature to have great regard for human testimony; and a very great degree of probability, supported by various concurrent circumstances, conspiring in one point, will have much greater weight with me, than human testimony upon oath, or even upon honour; both of which I have frequently seen considerably warped by private views.

The logical man must either deny all miracles or none, and our American Indian myths and hero stories are perhaps, in themselves, quite as credible as those of the Hebrews of old.

'UFO's' attitude toward the subject is very similar to mine. It's not an advocacy; its philosophy is more 'I want to believe this, but I want it proved.'

Skepticism is the first step on the road to philosophy.

Skeptics question the validity of a particular claim by calling for evidence to prove or disprove it.

Doubt the conventional wisdom unless you can verify it with reason and experiment.

Anecdotal thinking comes naturally; science requires training.

The first step towards philosophy is incredulity.

My background is basically scientific math. My Dad was a physicist, so I have it in my blood somewhere. Scientific method is very important to me. I think anything that contradicts it is probably not true.

The world presents enough problems if you believe it to be a world of law and order; do not add to them by believing it to be a world of miracles.

It is an old maxim of mine that when you have excluded the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.

Knowledge consists in understanding the evidence that establishes the fact, not in the belief that it is a fact.

By free-thinking I mean the use of the understanding in endeavoring to find out the meaning of any proposition whatsoever, in considering the nature of the evidence for or against it, and in judging of it according to the seeming force or weakness of the evidence.

True science teaches, above all, to doubt

Science must begin with myths and with the criticism of myth.

Constant and frequent questioning is the first key to wisdom … For through doubting we are led to inquire, and by inquiry we perceive the truth.

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

Journalists should recalibrate themselves to be more skeptical of the consensus of their peers. That’s because a position that seems to have deep backing from the evidence may really just be a reflection from the echo chamber. You should be looking toward how much evidence there is for a particular position as opposed to how many people hold that position: having 20 independent pieces of evidence that mostly point in the same direction might indeed reflect a powerful consensus, while having 20 like-minded people citing the same warmed-over evidence is much less powerful.

My only weapon is the question.

The great benefit of philosophy, which is also its great weakness, is that all its steps are taken in the spirit of doubt.

I'm a rationalist and a skeptic, someone who safely separates faith from reason.