How did David Hume explain cause and effect?

David Hume, a prominent figure of the Scottish Enlightenment, argued that our understanding of causation is not derived from rational insight into the nature of objects, but rather from human experience and psychological habit.12

Hume identified three components typically associated with the idea of cause and effect:
* Contiguity: The cause and effect are near each other in time and space.13
* Temporal Priority: The cause occurs before the effect.13
* Necessary Connection: The belief that the cause necessitates the occurrence of the effect.13

Hume observed that while we can experience contiguity and temporal order, we never directly observe a "necessary connection" in the world. Instead, he proposed that this idea arises from "constant conjunction"—the repeated experience of two events occurring together. Through custom and habit, the mind becomes conditioned to expect the effect whenever the cause appears.14325

Consequently, Hume concluded that causal inferences are not logically justified by reason but are instead psychological compulsions, making custom the "great guide of life".14