Several of these qualities hark back to Bacon's discussion of human understanding in Book One of his New Organon. Hume states that the "forming of general maxims from particular observation" is a common mistake from "haste or narrowness of mind" and correlates with Bacon's condemnation of the mind's tendency to "spring up to positions of higher generality". Hume also claims that biases from "prejudice, education, passion, party" can cloud someones judgments; this seems to be almost a summary of the Idols which Bacon claims pervade and dampen men's intelligence.
Hume and Bacon however emphasize different ways for human understanding to be increased, although their positions do overlap somewhat. Hume seems to believe that an accumulation of experience gradually improves human understanding (through methods discussed earlier in the Enquiry), while Bacon endorses a rigorous transformation of the way in which humanity pursues knowledge. Bacon condemns previous errors resulting from human passions, while Hume's assumption is that over the course of history, humanity has relied on experience for a steady base of knowledge. Hume seems to imply that humans are, on the whole, reasonable and have developed effective systems of knowledge from their accumulation of experience. This contrast to Bacon may be because Bacon has yet to see the fruits of the Scientific Revolution, while Hume lives in a world of burgeoning innovation. Hume's doctrine of "proofs" seems to be the closest thing to Bacon's focus.
I'm trying to remember if Hume has discussed scientific experiments yet...anyone?
I think this opposition of Bacon's revolutionary impulses vs. Hume's common sense also raises to mind a comparison of Hume and Rousseau. Hume assumes that humans have more or less always lived the same way. Rousseau stresses a radical degeneration of human life, inviting us to re-examine our lives. We become complacent by believing Hume's account. Interestingly, while Hume may invite a revolution in philosophy, he may promote the reverse in daily life. Some of us might like how philosophy turns everyday life on its head and allows us to critically examine what people take for granted as "common sense"...But the net result of Hume's work is to extinguish this passion for critical engagement with common sense in us. Or maybe it offers a helpful corrective if we go overboard.
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