David Hume

Hume, David (1711–76), Scottish Enlightenment philosopher, economist, and historian. His Treatise of Human Nature (1739–40) is one of the key works in the tradition of British empiricism, but it was his shorter Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (1748) that prompted Immanuel Kant to his most radical labors. His influential Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion were published posthumously in 1779, long after their composition. In epistemology Hume argued that people had no logical reason to associate distinct impressions as cause and effect; if they did so, it was only on the basis of custom or psychological habit. His skepticism in this respect has always been controversial. In his own day, Hume's most popular work was his History of England (1754–63).

See also: Philosophy.