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Thinker · TH-0018

David Hume

Scottish philosopher, historian and essayist, a central figure of the Scottish Enlightenment. He argued that our beliefs about causation, the self and morality rest…

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Also known as Hume

1711 – 1776 · Edinburgh, La Flèche, Paris

Traditions: Modern European

Schools: Empiricism

Scottish philosopher, historian and essayist, a central figure of the Scottish Enlightenment. He argued that our beliefs about causation, the self and morality rest on custom and sentiment rather than reason alone, a challenge that Kant said woke him from his dogmatic slumber.

Key ideas

  • Causation as constant conjunction plus habit of expectation
  • The problem of induction
  • The self as a bundle of perceptions
  • Reason as the slave of the passions; the is-ought gap

Major works

  • A Treatise of Human Nature (1739–40)
  • An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (1748)
  • An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals (1751)
  • Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (1779)

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