David Hume on Taking Yourself Less Seriously

Source: Mindset Shifts
by Barry Brownstein

“Hume understood that ‘the mind is a kind of theatre, where several perceptions successively make their appearance; pass, re-pass, glide away, and mingle in an infinite variety of postures and situations.’ Insightfully, Hume argued that our identity is constructed through our attempts to unify our different perceptions. Our stories about who we are harden into a self-made prison with boundaries that greatly restrict our choices. For example, a person who experiences many angry feelings associated with their perceptions might call themselves an angry person. Identifying as an angry person is a way to dodge responsibility for their actions.” (12/03/24)

https://mindsetshifts.substack.com/p/david-hume-on-taking-yourself-less