Summary Of The Treatise Of Human Nature By David Hume

In Hume part 3 of the Treatise of Human Nature, it starts with going to explain the direct passions that arise from pleasure or pain.

Hume explains that motives bring us to action. He then talks about direct passions and perfunctory definition of the will as an impression we feel then he looks at the problem of free will and determinism. In the first section, he makes an argument for the idea of necessity. The problem is whether human action is determined by necessity with physical necessity or if necessity governs physical objects. Hume believes he has the answer to these problems like uniformity found in human action is the same as in the natural world and that inferences on mortality is the same as the inferences in the natural
Hume believes that reason is unable to oppose the passions and that the passions is not the opposite of reason in equality. He believes that reason alone cannot motivate us but perform simple reasoning. Only abstract truth can influence us our simple reasoning for example doing school work to get a good grade and simple reasoning influences us only giving us motivates. Since reason cannot motivation the passions therefore it can’t control it but rather passion control the reasons. Passions cannot disagree with reason, since the passions only represent itself for example when we think the passions are being unreasonable but later find out it our judgment that is wrong understanding the passion. He believes that fight between reason and passions is actually a fight between two different kinds of passions, one being the calm passion and the other violent passion. Both the calm passion and reason act with the same calmness therefore we mistake them for the same thing.

In section 4-8, Humes talks about what gives passions their motivational force. Both violence passions and claim passions can be strong, but overall the violent passions can influence the will more. He looks at events that could increase the violence of passions in us like swallow with violence. Having love with strength can make for a violent passion if it has anger. Hume then talks about repeated activity starting
Some direct passions comes from pleasure or pain due to the instinct that brings us towards pleasure or away from pain. Hume looks at joy and grief from a pleasure or pain point of view. He also looks at hope and fear in the same way. Added also is Desire and aversion from pleasure or pain with the will seeing if pleasure or pain is within our power to get. Hume talks about direct passions come from instinct, which is unable to be explain like anger and lust. The instinctual passions makes good and evil rather than the other direct passions, which comes from pleasure and