Final answer:
David Hume viewed empirical evidence and sentiments as the central ideas of all reasoning, challenging the traditional emphasis on logical reasoning for understanding facts and morality.
Step-by-step explanation:
David Hume takes empirical evidence and the analysis of sentiments rather than reason to be the central idea of all reasoning. Unlike Plato who emphasized reasoning as a means to access universal forms beyond sensory experience, Hume argued that our reasonings about matters of fact are based on the empirical evidence of the senses and the sentiment within us. He also challenged the notion that moral judgments ('ought' statements) could be logically derived from factual statements ('is' statements), emphasizing that morality is rooted in human sentiments and not just factual reasoning.
Hume's outlook shifted the focus from pure logical reasoning to a more empirical and sentiment-based understanding. In matters of logic and the workings of nature, he insisted that the preponderance of evidence implies the consistent following of natural laws, and any deviation (such as miracles) requires extremely convincing evidence. This perspective on reasoning has had a profound influence on the fields of epistemology and ethics within philosophy.