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Hume

Name: David Hume

Achievements: Succeeded in separating religion and morality as philosophies and ways of looking at and understanding the world.  He also developed the “Quantity Theory” of economics, which states that the total volume of international trade is directly related to the diversity and wealth of all nations.

Born: May 7, 1711 (24 or 26 April, old-style calendar); Ninewells estate, Edinburgh, Scotland

Died: August 25, 1776; Edinburgh, Scotland (Aged 65)

Field & Discipline: History; Philosophy; Economics

Language: English

Father: Joseph Hume (d. 1713)

Mother: Catherine

Siblings: Two siblings, including at least one brother

Spouse: None

Children: None

Education: Edinburgh University

Major Work:

“History of England”

“A Treatise of Human Nature”

Life & Times:  

Hume suffered a mild nervous breakdown in 1729 during a period of intense philosophy study.  He wrote a ten-page letter to [wrote to ] Arbuthnot*, a leading physician of the time, describing all his symptoms, physical, mental and emotional.  At the end of the letter he posed the question “Whether I can hope for a recovery?” and answered the question himself: “Assuredly you can.” 

Hume left Ninewells in 1734, went to France to study,  and ended up in La Fleche, probably because [inspired by] Descartes* had attended the Jesuit college there.  It was in La Fleche that Hume wrote his first major work, “A Treatise of Human Nature,” which [admired by] Russell* later said contained some of Hume’s best philosophical writing.  Hume came back to England in 1737 and published the treatise in 1739. 

Reception of the work at the time was disappointing, although it had enough impact that the claim it was a blasphemous and heretical work prevented Hume from being appointed Chair of Moral Philosophy at Edinburgh University.    

After his brief period abroad Hume rewrote his treatise, publishing it in two parts, titled “An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding” and “An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals,” which were both well received and which set out his theories regarding the way in which humans perceive the world. 

Hume believed that humankind was driven by a combination of reason, which rationally debated whether an action was right or wrong, and sentiment, which provided feelings of approval or disapproval which helped drive the reasoned arguments to a conclusion or action one way or another. 

In his words, “Reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions, and can never pretend to any other office than to serve and obey them.”  About this same time, he wrote an essay “Of Miracles,” in which he argued that “…no testimony is sufficient to establish a miracle, unless the testimony be of such a kind, that its falsehood would be more miraculous than the fact which it endeavours to establish.” 

He echoed the theory known as Occam’s Razor [echoed theory of] William of Ockham*, which states that the simplest explanation in any circumstance is most likely to be true.  Hume believed that miracles owed more to individual sentiment and emotion than to reason and empirical observation, and this simpler explanation resolved for him the question of whether there were such things as miracles.

In 1752 Hume began working on several other books, including his comprehensive “History of England.”  Published in 1762, it was a huge success, and remaining popular for nearly a century.  Hume was snubbed by [snubbed by] D Johnson*; admired by the actor [admired by] Garrick*;  a friend of [a pal of] Burke* (to whom he gave a copy of [a pal of] Adam Smith’s* “Theory of Moral Sentiments,” which Burke admired in a letter to the author); and respected by other philosophers, including the co-founder of Unitarianism, [admired by] Richard Price*.  

Hume’s writings on philosophy and economics influenced the work and theories of several other social scientists of the time, including [influenced] Beccaria*, an Italian intellectual who worked to reform the criminal justice system based on Hume’s theory of the association of ideas, i.e. that punishment should immediately follow the crime in order to have the greatest effect. 

Another moral reformer who was influenced by Hume’s work was [influenced] Jeremy Bentham*, who took Hume’s idea of “utility” as the “test of all virtue,” combined it with the theories of Beccaria and Joseph Priestley, and developed the idea of “the greatest good for the greatest number.” 

In 1763, Hume was appointed secretary to Lord Hertford, the British ambassador to France. 

It was while in France that he met many of the European intellectual elite, including [met] Fuseli*,  D’ [met] Alembert*,  [met] Diderot*,  [met] Turgot*, [met] Helvetius* and [met] D’Holbach* and Julie de [met] Lespinasse*

While he was stationed in Paris, the Comtesse de Boufflers introduced Hume to the French writer/philosopher [aided escape of] Rousseau*, who was on the run from the police following the publication of “Emile.”  Hume agreed to help Rousseau get to England and safety, and took Rousseau to visit one of his friends, Daniel Malthus, and his young son [knew] Robert Malthus*.  Unfortunately, Rousseau had a suspicious nature, and shortly after arriving in England, he began to believe that Hume was plotting against him. 

The last years of Hume’s life were spent preparing new editions of his “History of England,” publishing collections of his earlier writings, and an autobiography, “The Life of David Hume, written by Himself.”  Hume did not live long enough to see the publication of his autobiography.  He died shortly after finishing the book, but his friend Adam Smith saw to it that the book was published the following year. 

Hume’s most controversial work, “Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion” was finally published in 1779, and in 1782 two additional essays, one on suicide and one on immortality, were published.  Reaction to all three works was immediately hostile in England, although the “Dialogues” became very popular in Germany.

Hume was interviewed on his deathbed by [interview by] Boswell*, the biographer of Dr. Johnson.  Hume stated that he did not believe in religion, and was sceptical of there being an afterlife.  He added that “when he heard a man was religious, he concluded he was a rascal, although he had known of some very good men being religious.”   Hume remained true to his rational convictions to the last. 

Although Hume was known more as an historian during his lifetime, it was his work in moral philosophy which most influenced contemporary and succeeding generations of philosophers and social scientists.  Among those influenced by Hume were [influenced] T. H. Huxley*, who published a monograph on Hume in 1879;  [influenced] Comte*, whose “System of Positive Polity” emphasized morality and moral progress as the central core of human activity;  [influenced] Kant* credited reading Hume’s work with awakening him from his “intellectual slumber”; and much later, the Vienna Circle, whose members included [influenced] Mach* and  [influenced] Carnap*, who further developed Hume’s empirical theories into their own Theory of Positivism or Theory of Empiricism.

Extra Connections: He met [became friend of] Franklin*, who helped introduce his works to America, where he also influenced  [influenced] Alexander Hamilton*.

Hume’s printer in Edinburgh was [printer was] William Smellie*,  editor of the first “Encyclopedia Britannica.”

Hume’s work was known to [work known to] Herder*. 

Hume’s views on morality and humanism reflected the theories of [shared views of] Montesquieu*.

[work known to] Warren Hastings* read Hume on the way to India

Assessment: His theories laid the groundwork for the Secular Humanist movement and influenced generations of philosophers, reformers, social scientists and moralists.  His arguments regarding the ways in which we experience the world around us were a cornerstone of the Enlightenment and Rational thought.  His insistence on empirical, or experience-based research, and his scepticism regarding both miracles and scientific “proofs” are reflected in contemporary discussions of social interactions, morality and ethics.

Oneliner: David Hume, influential Enlightenment philosopher

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