David Hume über den Glauben, oder Idealismus und Realismus

Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi's work, David Hume über den Glauben, oder Idealismus und Realismus (1787), engages with the philosophy of David Hume. Jacobi, a proponent of Gefühlsphilosophie (philosophy of feeling), used this work to critique rationalism and highlight the significance of belief, which he saw as an immediate conviction stemming from the heart or spirit, rather than solely from reason.1

Jacobi argued that Hume's concept of belief was not fundamentally different from his own. He posited that belief encompasses not only the reality of sensory experiences but also truths apprehended through intuition and feeling. Jacobi contended that these felt truths could be endangered if subjected to strict rational processes. This perspective contrasted with the strict rationalism of philosophers like Spinoza and later influenced thinkers like Immanuel Kant, who reacted to Hume's skepticism.12