David Hume Summary

Hume, David HUME, DAVID (1711–1776), was a Scottish philosopher and historian. Hume was born in Edinburgh on April 26, 1711, to Joseph and Katherine Home. Most of his childhood was spent on the... Read more

Hume, David(1711–1776) David Hume, considered by many the finest Anglophone philosopher, one of the first fully modern secular minds, and, along with Adam Smith, the leading light of the Scotti... Read more

The Scottish philosopher David Hume (1711-1776) developed a philosophy of "mitigated skepticism," which remains a viable alternative to the systems of rationalism, empiricism, and idealism.If one was ... Read more

David Hume's literary work reveals an extraordinary range of interests and a mind of unusual scope and penetration. Recognized as one of the greatest modern philosophers, he made original contribution... Read more

In the following essay, Christensen discusses how Hume characterizes his writing in the autobiographical “My Own Life,” focusing on Hume's use of illness metaphors to explore the ... Read more

In the essay that follows, Kennelly criticizes Hume's History of England, which she believes is “sadly lacking in gender sensitivity and respect for religion and zealous believers (in an... Read more

In this essay, Potkay explores Hume's ambivalence toward rhetoric and evaluates his attempt “to preserve the coalescent power of eloquence in the very act of dissolving the bonds of reli... Read more

Most people, myself included, like to believe that they possess knowledge about the world around them. I thought that many of the beliefs I had were irrefutable and obvious facts based on common sens... Read more

In the Republic, Plato created a city to demonstrate the goodness that can come about in a society that lived by his moral and societal laws. Plato's argument was that if all citizens of the city uphe... Read more

Hume uses three speakers to present various approaches to reasoning. Cleanthes, Philo, and Demea are the three speakers in Hume's Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion that are offered up to rea... Read more