An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding Quotes

Context

This line was written by David Hume in the opening of his philosophical book, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, published in 1748.

You might be used to watching movies where you have an aggressive father who yells at his son, "Be a man!" But chances are you haven't seen many movies where someone yells, "Be a philosopher!" Well don't worry, because Hume isn't telling us all to quit our day jobs and spend our time thinking in a locked room. Actually, he's saying exactly the opposite here.

At this part of the book, Hume wants to remind us that even though we might like to think about big questions, we still have to deal with the practical stuff of everyday life, like going to work or walking your cat. Okay, so maybe that last one wasn't so practical.

Where you've heard it

This quote doesn't show up in any famous movies, novels, or political speeches. But that doesn't mean it isn't a good piece of advice. After all, think of how many times one person has said to another, "Go ahead and follow your dreams, but just make sure you have a backup plan so that you don't end up on the street." We're willing to bet that almost everyone has heard this from their parents at one time or another.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

The formal phrasing of this quote may sound pretentious, but at its root, it's a perfectly non-pretentious piece of advice.