🎱 David Hume | Free Course
- Jul 30
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 6
Free Course by Everything IFS Academy | Philosophers Series
Welcome to the Free David Hume Course for Everyday People
David Hume (1711 to 1776) was a Scottish philosopher, born in Edinburgh at the height of the Scottish Enlightenment. He wrote his masterpiece in his twenties and watched it sink without a trace, was twice refused a university post for being thought too dangerous a skeptic to teach the young, and still became one of the most admired writers in Europe, so warmly loved in the salons of Paris that they simply called him le bon David, the good David. Running beneath all of it was one quiet conviction: that the honest place to begin understanding anything is human experience itself, and that a clear mind follows the evidence exactly as far as it leads and no farther, even when the trail turns humbling.
This course teaches Hume on his own terms, with no other thinkers and no other methods folded in. It is written in plain, down-to-earth language anyone can follow, whether you have read philosophy for years or have never opened a book of it in your life. It is not a university seminar and not a dry history lecture; it is Hume's actual ideas, laid out so you can really understand them and carry them into how you see your own life, with clear teaching, relatable examples, and an honest account of both his brilliance and his flaws, the blind spots and famous contradictions included. And because an idea lands deeper once it becomes personal, each lesson ends with a short IFS and parts work integration practice, a gentle way to take one idea off the page and notice how it actually moves through your own inner world.
This course is self-paced, with no tests, exams, or homework. Feel free to move through it in order, or to jump straight to whatever calls to you most.
If you would like to see where Hume's thinking began, the Everything IFS Academy course on John Locke introduces the philosopher who opened the empiricist path that Hume would later walk to its end.
Course outline
Click any lesson below to begin.
The Basics Who Is David Hume The Life and World of David Hume Impressions and Ideas: The Copy Principle
The Limits of Knowledge
The Self and Morality
The Bundle Theory of the Self The Is-Ought Problem | Hume's Guillotine "Reason Is the Slave of the Passions": Moral Sentimentalism
The Critique of Religion
Living It
Disclaimer:
Everything IFS Academy is an independent educational platform and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the IFS Institute. While we strive for accuracy, errors can occur, and users are encouraged to cross-reference critical information. These courses present the ideas of historical philosophers for educational and self-reflection purposes only. They describe what these thinkers taught and argued and do not constitute an endorsement of any philosophical position, nor do they constitute religious instruction or professional advice of any kind. They do not constitute therapy, mental health treatment, clinical training, or crisis support, and they should not be used as a substitute for professional mental health care.
Crisis Support: 🚨
If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, feel unsafe, feel at risk of harming yourself or someone else, or feel too overwhelmed to safely use self-directed practices, please pause this material and reach out for immediate support. Contact a licensed mental health professional, call or text 988 in the U.S. or Canada, or use your local emergency or crisis resources.
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