The Human Need of Philosophy

Every culture has a need to base their human understanding on their own philosophies and David Hume eloquently argues this need. The variations of these philosophies are obvious from one society to the next and often vary drastically. The European Enlightenment opened the door to many philosophers, such as Descartes, and brought attention to human knowledge and thought. This serge of independent thinkers encouraged skepticism of their society and put them in search of a new way of thinking. This revolution was a far different philosophy than the ancient Chinese. Similar to Descartes, Confucius was in search of understanding; however, he was more concerned with restoring an older way of thinking as opposed to a new one. He taught of virtue and a return to ancient society in order to restore prosperity. The variety of philosophical thought and Hume’s argument convey this innate need for human understanding.