# Narrator — An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding character guide

> Narrator in An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding by David Hume.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** myself, our, ourselves

**First appearance:** 0000-i-of-the-different-species-of-philosophy

## Snapshot

A coolly candid guide who splits philosophers into two tribes — the warm painters of virtue and the cold anatomists of mind — then quietly joins the anatomists.

## Who they are

The Narrator opens by sorting moral philosophers into two camps: the easy writers who flatter our sentiments, and the abstruse ones who dissect human nature without flattery. Professing admiration for both, he admits the abstract strain is harder to love and harder to live by, yet insists it is the more honest work. This confession sets the book's temper — a thinker who knows he is choosing the shade over the open day, and wants you to follow him there anyway.

## Relationships

### [Epicurus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/an_enquiry_concerning_human_understanding_se/characters/epicurus)

_psychological_

The narrator uses Epicurus as a philosophical foil to explore themes of skepticism and the limits of human understanding.

### [Queen Elizabeth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/an_enquiry_concerning_human_understanding_se/characters/queen_elizabeth)

_social_

The narrator references Queen Elizabeth as a historical example to illustrate points about human nature and governance.

### [Mademoiselle Thibaut](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/an_enquiry_concerning_human_understanding_se/characters/mademoiselle_thibaut)

_social_

Mademoiselle Thibaut appears as a minor anecdotal figure in the narrator's discussion of human behavior and custom.

## In the story

### [Of the Different Species of Philosophy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/an_enquiry_concerning_human_understanding_se/chapters/i-of-the-different-species-of-philosophy)

The narrator presents the two species of philosophy and argues for a balanced approach, advocating for the reconciliation of profound inquiry with clear, accessible reasoning.

### [Of the Origin of Ideas](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/an_enquiry_concerning_human_understanding_se/chapters/ii-of-the-origin-of-ideas)

Presents the empiricist theory of ideas, using first-person arguments and examples.

### [Of the Association of Ideas](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/an_enquiry_concerning_human_understanding_se/chapters/iii-of-the-association-of-ideas)

The narrator presents the principles of association among ideas, reflecting on their universality and completeness.

### [IV: Sceptical Doubts Concerning the Operations of the Understanding](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/an_enquiry_concerning_human_understanding_se/chapters/iv-sceptical-doubts-concerning-the-operations-of-the-understanding)

The philosophical voice presenting skeptical doubts about causal inference and the foundation of empirical knowledge.

### [Sceptical Solution of These Doubts](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/an_enquiry_concerning_human_understanding_se/chapters/v-sceptical-solution-of-these-doubts)

The narrator presents the sceptical solution to the doubts raised in the previous chapter, arguing that custom, not reason, is the foundation of all inferences from experience.

### [Of Probability](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/an_enquiry_concerning_human_understanding_se/chapters/vi-of-probability)

The narrator presents the analysis of probability and belief, reflecting on the mind's operations.

### [Of the Idea of Necessary Connection](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/an_enquiry_concerning_human_understanding_se/chapters/vii-of-the-idea-of-necessary-connection)

The narrator guides the inquiry into the idea of necessary connection, reflecting on the limits of human understanding.

### [Of Liberty and Necessity](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/an_enquiry_concerning_human_understanding_se/chapters/viii-of-liberty-and-necessity)

Presents the philosophical argument reconciling liberty and necessity, analyzing human motives and actions.

### [Of the Reason of Animals](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/an_enquiry_concerning_human_understanding_se/chapters/ix-of-the-reason-of-animals)

The narrator presents the argument that animals reason by analogy and custom, not by rational deduction.

### [X: Of Miracles](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/an_enquiry_concerning_human_understanding_se/chapters/x-of-miracles)

The philosophical voice presenting the argument against miracles and superstitious delusion.

### [Of a Particular Providence and of a Future State](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/an_enquiry_concerning_human_understanding_se/chapters/xi-of-a-particular-providence-and-of-a-future-state)

Engages in dialogue with Epicurus, raising objections about the practical influence of religious belief on conduct and society.

### [Of the Academical or Sceptical Philosophy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/an_enquiry_concerning_human_understanding_se/chapters/xii-of-the-academical-or-sceptical-philosophy)

The narrator presents and critiques both excessive and mitigated scepticism, advocating for a philosophy grounded in common life.

### [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/an_enquiry_concerning_human_understanding_se/chapters/endnotes)

The narrator presents and comments on the philosophical arguments in the endnotes.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/an_enquiry_concerning_human_understanding_se/characters/narrator
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/an_enquiry_concerning_human_understanding_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/an_enquiry_concerning_human_understanding_se/characters