{"id":342,"date":"2023-01-08T19:34:34","date_gmt":"2023-01-08T19:34:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/315.jcdelama.info\/?page_id=342"},"modified":"2023-01-29T17:11:14","modified_gmt":"2023-01-29T17:11:14","slug":"david-hume","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/315.jcdelama.info\/?page_id=342","title":{"rendered":"David Hume"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-genesis-blocks-gb-columns gb-slate-section-hero-title gpb-slate-section-hero-title gb-layout-columns-1 one-column gb-has-background-dim gb-has-background-dim-20 gb-background-cover gb-background-no-repeat gb-has-custom-background-color gb-has-custom-text-color gb-columns-center alignfull\" style=\"margin-bottom:50px;padding-top:5em;padding-right:1em;padding-bottom:5em;padding-left:1em;background-color:#1f1f1f;color:#f5f5f5;background-image:url(https:\/\/315.jcdelama.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Hume3.jpg);background-position:47% 26%\"><div class=\"gb-layout-column-wrap gb-block-layout-column-gap-1 gb-is-responsive-column\" style=\"max-width:1200px\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-genesis-blocks-gb-column gb-block-layout-column\"><div class=\"gb-block-layout-column-inner\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-genesis-blocks-gb-columns gb-layout-columns-2 gb-2-col-wideleft gb-columns-center alignfull\"><div class=\"gb-layout-column-wrap gb-block-layout-column-gap-8 gb-is-responsive-column\" style=\"max-width:1200px\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-genesis-blocks-gb-column gb-block-layout-column gb-is-vertically-aligned-top\"><div class=\"gb-block-layout-column-inner\">\n<h2 class=\"has-text-color wp-block-heading\" style=\"color:#f5f5f5;font-size:60px\">David Hume<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-genesis-blocks-gb-column gb-block-layout-column gb-is-vertically-aligned-center\"><div class=\"gb-block-layout-column-inner\">\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Suggested Readings:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The&nbsp;Essays:&nbsp; \u201c<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/410.jcdelama.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/HumeEssays.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Of the First Principles of Government<\/a>\u201d,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Treatise of Human Nature:  \u201c<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/410.jcdelama.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/HumeTreatiseFame.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Of Love of Fame<\/a>\u201d.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>David Hume\u2019s (1711-1766) starting point is a question about something so obvious that it is a mystery no one had reflected about it before him (or maybe nobody reflected on it because it seems to be a platitude). The question is:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How come that many are governed by the few?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How is it possible that thousands, millions of individuals with an autonomous subordinate themselves meekly to the power of just a few rulers?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Hume&#8217;s own words:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cNothing appears more surprising to those who consider human affairs with a philosophical eye, than the easiness with which many are governed by the few: and the implicit submission, with which men resign their own sentiments and passions to those of their rulers.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>In this learning unit, we will briefly discuss two works that can help understand this starting question:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The&nbsp;Essays&nbsp;\u2013 In particular the chapter \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/410.jcdelama.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/HumeEssays.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Of the First Principles of Government<\/a>\u201d,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And the&nbsp;Treatise of Human Nature&nbsp;\u2013 His most important work. From this work, you can find in the Hyperlink the chapter \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/410.jcdelama.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/HumeTreatiseFame.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Of Love of Fame<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed wp-block-embed-youtube is-type-video is-provider-youtube epyt-figure\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\"  id=\"_ytid_31976\"  width=\"800\" height=\"450\"  data-origwidth=\"800\" data-origheight=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/puu8uyTuHCU?enablejsapi=1&#038;autoplay=0&#038;cc_load_policy=0&#038;cc_lang_pref=&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;loop=0&#038;rel=1&#038;fs=1&#038;playsinline=0&#038;autohide=2&#038;theme=dark&#038;color=red&#038;controls=1&#038;disablekb=0&#038;\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  no-lazyload\" title=\"YouTube player\"  allow=\"fullscreen; accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>His conclusion is clear, straightforward, unequivocal:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is only on opinion that political power rests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cWhen we inquire by what means this wonder is effected, we shall find that the governors have nothing to support them but opinion. It is, therefore, on opinion only that government is founded; and this maxim extends to the most despotic and most military governments, as well as to the most free and most popular.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>This absolute statement applies for any type of government: The most despotic ones and the free democratic societies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This last statement may surprise us. It is clear that in a democratic society, power rests on opinion, but Hume goes further and states that the nature of political power does not vary in tyrannical or despotic regimes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To explain this apparent paradox, we need to reflect on what legitimizes power. During centuries, the power was concentrated in the hands of royal families. In this type of political regime, the power goes from fathers to sons for generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How come this power that seems so arbitrary relies on opinion?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In monarchical regimes, the royal family is considered to be an extension of God\u2019s power on Earth. If the majority of the population lives in the fear of God, they would accept the royal power as a logical consequence of God\u2019s will. When this particular state of opinion disappears, then the whole power of kings and queens that may have lasted for generations can vanish in just a couple of years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Suggested Readings: David Hume\u2019s (1711-1766) starting point is a question about something so obvious that it is a mystery no one had reflected about it before him (or maybe nobody reflected on it because it seems to be a platitude). The question is:&nbsp; How come that many are governed by the few? How is it [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":true,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":{"0":"post-342","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","5":"entry","6":"has-post-thumbnail"},"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/315.jcdelama.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/315.jcdelama.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/315.jcdelama.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/315.jcdelama.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/315.jcdelama.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=342"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/315.jcdelama.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/342\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":550,"href":"https:\/\/315.jcdelama.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/342\/revisions\/550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/315.jcdelama.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}