David Hume on Reason as a Passion

Abstract

This brief research memo collects quotations from David Hume’s works about reason as a passion — specifically, a calm passion. The collection shows that after A Treatise of Human Nature, which Hume disavowed, the dichotomy between reason and passion pretty much falls away, and, instead, reason is, in the main, presented to be a sort of passion. The collection shows that, in fact, even in the Treatise Hume gestured in that direction, though such gestures have been overshadowed by the passages that suggest a dichotomy between reason and passion. In this matter (and others), Hume’s disavowal of the Treatise should be minded and taken to heart. This note does not refer to any secondary literature on the matter.

Keywords: David Hume, reason, passion, calm passion

JEL Classification: A1, B1, B4