David Hume

1711-1776 Hume, David

Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist known especially for his philosophical empiricism and skepticism. For many philosophers and historians his importance lies in the fact that Immanuel Kant conceived his critical philosophy in direct reaction to Hume. Hume was one of the influences that led Auguste Comte, the 19th-century French mathematician and sociologist, to develop positivism. In Britain Hume’s positive influence is seen in Jeremy Bentham, the early 19th-century jurist and philosopher, who was moved to utilitarianism (the moral theory that right conduct should be determined by the usefulness of its consequences), and more extensively in John Stuart Mill later in the 19th century.