How to live in the age of deepfake? Even the philosopher David Hume said that we walk through the world fooled by our own senses
Our knowledge of the world is based on a very uncertain experience
Hume thought that the human mind is a blank slate on which impressions acquired through the senses are gradually written. We therefore do not come into the world equipped with any innate ideas or absolute truth.
As a skeptic, he was convinced that our knowledge of the world is limited and very uncertain. Many of our assumptions are not logically justifiable and are based on habit and experience instead of reason. For example, if we drop a cup of coffee, we expect it to fall to the ground. We are not basing this on logical proofs of gravity, but on the simple fact that we have seen this exact thing happen many times. Similarly, we expect the sun to rise tomorrow because it has risen every day so far. But we have no guarantee or logical proof that it will actually happen tomorrow.
Hume also questioned the existence of a stable self. According to him, our inner self is not a permanent entity, it is merely a stream of changing sensations, thoughts and emotions. It is only because our memories and experiences build on each other seamlessly that we feel that we are still the same person over time.
So can we rely on anything at all?
The senses are not a guaranteed source of truth, argues David Hume. Today's man will have no trouble disagreeing. But if we can't rely on them, does that mean we will never actually know the true shape of the world? Are we living in an endless delusion?
For our peace of mind, we should be content with the realization that we have only our own impressions and ideas at our disposal, with no certainty as to whether and to what extent they correspond to reality. We may not be able to prove with certainty that the world works as we think it does - but our habits and experience allow us to live in it.
David Hume in 2025
It is this sceptical approach that makes Hume's ideas surprisingly relevant in today's world. In an age of artificial intelligence generating realistic images, manipulative rhetoric and misinformation spread on social media, we should be applying his approach in practice more than ever. After all, the current deepfake videos are a textbook example of questioning the very credibility of our senses.
Hume's philosophy urges us not to blindly trust all information that reaches us, because our senses (and nowadays the technologies that are extensions of them) can easily be deceived. Instead of relying on one absolute truth, we should view the world critically, drawing on past experience and carefully considering what we accept as fact. In an era of digital illusions, it is the emphasis on habit and experience that becomes the key to navigating an overwhelming reality.
Enjoy the day as it is.
If we cannot be sure of anything other than our own impressions, we can also read Hume as a carpe diem-style encouragement to enjoy the day. When the nature of reality cannot be known with certainty, there is no point in seeking absolute truth, but rather to focus on what we are experiencing. Consciously and authentically.
Hume did not deny the importance of rationality, but he did emphasize that our decisions and actions are based precisely on emotion, habit, and experience. Even morality is not based on reason, but on feelings. Why seek unattainable objective certainties when we can focus on the present moment, which we can perceive and which brings us joy and meaning?
So, when you buy your morning coffee to go tomorrow, you might ask yourself: does coffee really taste the way it tastes to me? Or does everyone in this café perceive it differently and we just agree on a common illusion? Hume might just shrug and add with a smile: the important thing is that it gives you a nice kick start to your day.
