David Hume, born 26 April/7 May 1711 in Edinburgh, died 25 August 1776 there. Scottish philosopher, historian and economist. Born in Scotland, raised in England and lived in France and England. During his lifetime he was known mainly as a historian – a popularizer of the history of medieval England. Since the 19th century he has been remembered primarily as a philosopher. He is also valued by sociologists and representatives of other social sciences, mainly for his reflections on the methodology of empirical sciences and the distinction between judgments of facts and values. Inhis autobiographywritten towards the end of his life, David Hume describes himself as a gentle, self-possessed man, with an open, sociable and cheerful disposition, capable of attachment but weak in hostility, and valuing moderation in all his passions.
