David Hume was born on 26 April 1711 in Edinburgh. A Scottish philosopher, historian and essayist from Edinburgh, Hume is one of the leading figures of the Scottish Enlightenment and of empiricism. His A Treatise of Human Nature, published in 1739 when he was in his twenties, argued that all knowledge comes from experience and that ideas such as causation and the self are products of habit and imagination rather than rational certainty. His analysis of the problem of induction and his scepticism about miracles and religious belief were highly controversial. He also wrote a popular History of England and essays on economics, which influenced his friend Adam Smith. Kant said that Hume woke him from his dogmatic slumber.
Before and after
- 29 December 1709Birth of Elizabeth I of Russia
- from 1710 to 1711Pruth River Campaign
- 15 February 1710Birth of Louis XV of France
- October 1710Founding of New Bern
- 26 April 1711Birth of David Hume
- from 5 August 1711 to 12 September 1711Siege of Bouchain
- from 10 September 1711 to 11 February 1715Tuscarora War
- 24 January 1712Birth of Frederick II of Prussia
- May 1712Construction of Peter and Paul Cathedral
More in Art, literature & culture
- c. 1500sMona Lisa
- 18 April 1506Construction of St. Peter's Basilica
- from 31 October 1517 to 1 January 1648Protestant Reformation
- 31 October 1517Origins of Lutheranism
- 10 November 1517Origins of Protestantism
- from 17th century to 19th centuryAge of Enlightenment
The era
This moment belongs to the Early modern world (1500 CE to 1760 CE), voyages, printing and new ideas. You can also browse everything in the 18th century.