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Humean

Humean

1 9.9
Relating to the ideas of the thinker David Hume
  • adjective
  • /hjuːˈmiːən/
  • Formal
: humeano
  • The debate around causation has frequently been influenced by Humean principles of empirical observation.

Examples

  • First, by "common human experience," Tracy does not intend merely Humean sense data, but also "that immediate experience of the self-as-self which can be reflectively mediated through such disciplines as art, history, cultural analysis, human scientific analysis, and philosophical analysis" (BRO 69).

    Academic text (1993)

  • Many modern theories in philosophy draw on a Humean perspective to understand human behavior.

  • Critics of rationalism often adopt a Humean approach to highlight the limitations of human understanding.

Surface Forms

Humean positive

Morphology

Humean = Hume (transparent) = Hume + an

The suffix '-an' is commonly used to denote relation to a person or place, making the meaning clear.

Etymology

Humean comes from the name of the philosopher Hume and means 'like Hume's ideas'. Hume taught that we learn from experience and that we should be careful when we say one thing 'causes' another, so calling a view Humean links it to his experience-based, questioning approach.