Introduction

The Enlightenment consists of many strands. One strand is the claim to have discovered indubitable foundations for our knowledge in reason or in experience. This strand, like many other strands, has its origins in pre-enlightenment thought. It loomed large because of the vicious conflict between the reformation and the counter-reformation. The conflict made the search for foundations which would resolve debates once and for all especially urgent. Another strand is the sceptical strand, which criticizes any attempt to claim to have discovered indubitable foundations for our knowledge. It also loomed large in the conflict between the reformation and counter-reformation. A third strand is the scientific revolution, which made it seem to some as if all features of the world were to become scientifically explicable.

Hume is sympathetic to the first strand. He often talks as if he thinks claims to knowledge should have indubitable foundations, and he searches for them in experience. However, he also sees that claims to indubitable knowledge have proved baseless and dangerous. He is strongly attracted to the sceptical strand because he grasps that searches for secure foundations have failed to produce indubitable results. He is also attracted to it because he understands that those who claim to have discovered secure foundations for religious beliefs have fostered fanaticism and helped produce disasters.