Your corn is ripe today; mine will be so tomorrow. 'Tis profitable for us both, that I should labour with you today, and that you should aid me tomorrow.
David HumeRead
.. that a rule, which, in speculation, may seem the most advantageous to society, may yet be found, in practice, totally pernicious and destructive.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Speculative rules that seem beneficial can lead to harmful outcomes when applied in reality.
David Hume suggests that theories or rules which appear to be beneficial upon reflection or speculation can produce significantly harmful consequences in practice. This highlights the difference between theoretical ideals and practical results, emphasizing the need for careful consideration of how rules are implemented in society.
Themes
SocietyRulesPracticeTheoryConsequences
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about policy changes, one might quote Hume to emphasize the importance of considering practical implications.
More from David Hume
All quotes βEloquence, at its highest pitch, leaves little room for reason or reflection, but addresses itself entirely to the desires and affections, captivating the willing hearers, and subduing their understanding.
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All that belongs to human understanding, in this deep ignorance and obscurity, is to be sceptical, or at least cautious, and not to admit of any hypothesis whatever, much less of any which is supported by no appearance of probability.
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The great end of all human industry is the attainment of happiness
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There is a very remarkable inclination in human nature to bestow on external objects the same emotions which it observes in itself, and to find every where those ideas which are most present to it.
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To have recourse to the veracity of the supreme Being, in order to prove the veracity of our senses, is surely making a very unexpected circuit.
David HumeRead
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