# Purposeless play and the question of causes

Commentary on Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton.

On [CH02.P007](https://glosses.org/orthodoxy/pg16769-r1/CH02.P007/#char=977,1165): "If any human acts may loosely be called causeless, they are the minor acts of a healthy man; whistling as he walks; slashing the grass with a stick; kicking his heels or rubbing his hands."

The qualifying word 'loosely' matters: an activity without a practical purpose need not be an event without a cause. Hume offers a useful comparison in *An Enquiry concerning Human Understanding* (first published 1748; inspected in Hume Texts Online's 1748/1777 presentation). Section VIII defines liberty as being able to act according to one's will, while retaining causal connections between character, motives and action (§23, SBN 95). Its note 18 adds that even trying to demonstrate one's freedom can itself supply a motive (SBN 94). A Humean could therefore explain the whistling through pleasure or temperament without discovering a secret conspiracy in it. Chesterton's examples vividly defend the value of unforced, uncalculating activity, but do not by themselves disprove causal determination. His target also shifts from events having causes to an observer compulsively assigning them hidden significance. This is a philosophical comparison, not evidence that Hume influenced this paragraph or that Suthers adopted Hume's position. [Hume, VIII, §23 and note 18](https://davidhume.org/texts/e/8).

## Sources

- [David Hume, An Enquiry concerning Human Understanding, Section VIII](https://davidhume.org/texts/e/8), E 8.23, SBN 95; E 8.22n18.1, SBN 94
- [Hume Texts Online: First Enquiry](https://davidhume.org/texts/e/), Work heading: An Enquiry concerning Human Understanding (1748, 1777)

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