Brain Pickings

22 JUNE, 2011

Hume at 300: Timeless Philosophy for Timely Thinking

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Why imagination is at the root of the mind, or how to become a bestselling historian.

To mark the 300th anniversary of the birth of iconic philosopher David Hume, the fine folks at The RSA put together a panel of leading scholars, who reveal how Hume’s philosophy deeply resonates with contemporary culture and modern thinking on everything from creativity to education to politics to the future of publishing.

[Hume] concluded the dynamic power, which drives the workings of what we think of as the mind, is in fact the imagination. The organizing principle of what we like to think of as the mind is, in fact, custom, habit, convention — the sort of experience, the cognitive experience, the moral experience we acquire from everyday life in the society, in which we move.” ~ Nicholas Phillipson

For more on Hume, you won’t go wrong with Phillipson’s David Hume: The Philosopher as Historian.

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