ABSTRACT
According to David Hume, the philosophical act of thought is structured by three principles: ultimacy, autonomy, and dominion. Although the Scottish philosopher Hume is viewed by some as a significant figure in the conservative political tradition, many find his credentials problematic. They point to his skepticism, which appears to border on nihilism; or to his supposedly utilitarian theory of morals; and A. J. Ayer claimed him as the founder of logical positivism, which held that all metaphysical, religious, and value judgments are cognitively meaningless, expressing merely subjective feelings. Hume uses "philosophy" and "reason" to mean the same thing; so a critique of philosophy is also a critique of reason. Hume’s critique of natural religion is not a rejection of sacred religious tradition as such but of rationalistic theorizing in religion. In the Treatise Hume wrote, "Generally speaking, the errors in religion are dangerous; those in philosophy only ridiculous," but he added that this difference was a contingent one.
