[edit] Guide Note
David Hume was a philosopher, historian and economist during the Enlightenment. Hume is said to have had considerable influence on other philosophers of the period, including Immanuel Kant and Jeremy Bentham.1
[edit] Fast Facts
- Birth name: David Home2
- Born: April 26, 1711
- Birthplace: Edinburgh, Scotland
- Youngest of three children2
- Died: August 25, 1776
[edit] Problem of Causation
Hume's problem of causation discusses the relationship between objects. He maintains that until we understand the "necessary connection"3 between objects, we can't achieve "certainty of knowledge".4
[edit] Induction
The problem of induction questions the way humans form expectations about what will happen in the future. Hume asks whether it is appropriate to "induce" expectations of the future from past experience.5
[edit] Is-ought problem
Also known as "Hume's Guillotine," the "is-ought problem" reflects Hume's assertion that many writers form statements about what "ought to be" from what "is."6
[edit] Quotes
"If I ask you why you believe any particular matter of fact, which you relate, you must tell me some reason; and this reason will be some other fact, connected with it. But as you cannot proceed after this manner, in infinitum, you must at last terminate in some fact, which is present to your memory or senses; or must allow that your belief is entirely without foundation."—David Hume
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