David Hume
Scottish philosopher, historian and essayist (1711–1776); empiricism, scepticism, the problem of induction.
At a glance
Main ideas
Impressions and ideas, The problem of induction, Reason serves the passions …
See all 5Books to start with
A Treatise of Human Nature, Essays, Moral and Political, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding …
See all 6Connections
Immanuel Kant, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and 4 others
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Also on this page: Key facts · Links · Sources · Related pages
- Hume was a Scottish philosopher, historian, economist and essayist known for his empiricism, scepticism and naturalism.
- He held that all ideas derive from impressions, and that belief in causation comes from custom, not reason.
- He argued that passions rather than reason govern behaviour, and that ethics rests on sentiment.
- In his lifetime he was known chiefly as a historian, as his History of England became a bestseller.
Why it matters
- His work shaped utilitarianism, logical positivism, the philosophy of science and cognitive science; Kant credited him with waking him from his "dogmatic slumbers".
Key facts
- Born
- 7 May 1711 (O.S. 26 April), Edinburgh, as David Home1
- Died
- 25 Aug 1776, Edinburgh, of abdominal cancer1
- Education
- University of Edinburgh from age 12 or younger; did not graduate1
- University chairs
- Passed over at Edinburgh in 1745 and at Glasgow, over his alleged atheism1
- Librarian
- Of the Faculty of Advocates in Edinburgh, from 17521
- Diplomacy
- Secretary to the British embassy in Paris from 1763 to 1765; Under Secretary of State for the Northern Department from 17671
Main ideas
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Impressions and ideas1
All ideas derive ultimately from impressions; there are no innate ideas.
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The problem of induction1
Causal inference presupposes that the future will resemble the past, which experience cannot ground.
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Reason serves the passions1
"Reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions."
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Is and ought1
A statement of fact alone can never give rise to a conclusion about what ought to be done.
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The bundle self1
The self is a bundle of perceptions joined by association of ideas.
Books to start with
The line under a date fills as it gets older: empty when new, full at 2 years.
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A Treatise of Human Nature1
His first major work; it "fell dead-born from the press".
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Essays on politics, economics and taste, later collected as Essays, Moral, Political, and Literary.
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An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding1
Reworks Book 1 of the Treatise, adding miracles and the design argument.
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An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals1
The work he thought the best of all his writings.
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The History of England1
Six volumes, a bestseller in its day.
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Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion1
Published after his death; on the argument from design.
Connections
Related
- Immanuel KantPersonKant credited Hume with waking him from his "dogmatic slumbers"
- Jean-Jacques RousseauPersonBrought Rousseau to England in 1766; they fell out
- George BerkeleyPersonHume stands in the empiricist tradition of Locke and Berkeley
- Adam SmithPersonClose friends and intellectual allies from 1750
- The Theory of Moral SentimentsBookSmith grounded morals in sympathy rather than in utility, as Hume had
Links
Sources
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