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David Hume (May 7 [April 26, Old Style], 1711, Edinburgh, Scotland—August 25, 1776, Edinburgh), Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist known especially for his philosophical empiricism and skepticism.
Hume conceived of philosophy as the inductive, experimental science of human nature. He concluded that no theory of reality is possible; there can be no knowledge of anything beyond experience. Despite the enduring impact of his theory of knowledge, Hume seems to have considered himself chiefly as a moralist. In 1734, he came to the turning point of his life and retired to France for three years. Most of this time he spent studying and writing A Treatise of Human Nature . The Treatise was Hume’s attempt to formulate a full-fledged philosophical system.
That Hume was one of the major figures of his century can hardly be doubted. So his contemporaries thought, and his achievement, as seen in historical perspective, confirms that judgment, though with a shift of emphasis.