David Hume

David Hume, originally David Home, was born to Joseph Home and Katherine Falconer on May 7, 1711 in a tenement of the Lawnmarket in Edinburgh. His father was an advocate. As the English faced problems in pronouncing his name ”Home” in the Scottish accent correctly, in 1734 he changed his name to “Hume”. Hume started attending the University of Edinburgh at the age of 12. Initially he aimed to build his career in the field of law but later turned towards philosophy. Hume never respected his professors as he believed that nothing can be learnt by a professor. He came out with a philosophical discovery which guided him to dedicate his entirety to it. As such, Hume became a recluse and spent ten years of his life solely on reading and writing. Such was his intense dedication that he came on the verge of nervous breakdown, after which he decided to have a more active life to better continue his learning.

The gates open in front of Hume were between a traveling tutorship and a stool in a merchant's office and he selected the latter one. After spending some months in Bristol in 1734, Hume headed to La Flèche in Anjou, France. There he had regular arguments with the Jesuits of the college of La Flèche. This is because he spent a large portion of his savings during the 4 years there writing “A Treatise of Human Nature”. Hume finished the Treatise when he was just 26.Although his book is highly appreciated and considered as most influential works of Hume in today’s time, some critics of Great Britain disagreed at that time. In the year 1744, ‘Essays Moral and Political’ got published. After the same, Hume applied for the post of Chair of Pneumatics and Moral Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. But as Hume was considered as an atheist, William Cleghorn was given the position. While “Jacobite Rebellion” was going on in 1745, Hume tutored “the Marquis of Annandale” whose official name was "lunatic" but about a year later, this bond broke up in great mess. After the same, Hume commenced his effective work “The History of England”. The work took 15 years to complete with around a million words. It was published in six volumes between 1754 and 1762. The book was also linked with the Canongate Theatre. In the same context, Hume also linked with Lord Monboddo and other Scottish Enlightenment Edinburgh personalities.

 

Hume served as a Secretary to Lieutenant-General St Clair for three years starting from 1746. During these three years, he also wrote Philosophical Essays Associated With Human Understanding, which was later published as “An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding.” This publication went on to become more famous that the Treatise and earned Hume rave reviews. Later, Hume was blamed with “Heresy” but was well defended by Hume’s young clerical friend. His friend argued that being an atheist, he was outside the “Church’s Jurisdiction”. Despite all the arguments, Hume failed to achieve the “Chair of Philosophy” at the University of Glasgow. After coming back from Edinburgh in 1752, he wrote “My Own Life”. This was the resource which enabled Hume to continue his historical research for ‘The History of England’. David Hume acquired great fame in literary as an historian. His book “The History of England” was a great success having events from the invasion of Julius Caesar to the 1688 revolution. The book was the largest selling book of that time.

 

Hume became the secretary to Lord Hertford in Paris from 1763 to 1765. Then Hume met and fell out with Jean-Jacques Rousseau. In 1767, he was appointed Under Secretary of State for the Northern Department for a year only. He shifted base to his birth place, Edinburgh the following year, in 1768 and lived there until his death. On August 25, 1776, Hume died of either bowel or liver cancer at the southwest corner of St. Andrew's Square, in Edinburgh's New Town, at what is now 21 Saint David Street.

1711: David Hume was born.

1723: Started education at an early age.

1734: Changed his name from “Home” to “Hume”.

1739: Started writing “Treatise of Human Nature”.

1740: Third volume of “Treatise of Human Nature” was published.

1741: Published first volume of “Essays Moral and Political”.

1744: Failed to attain the “Chair of Philosophy” at Edinburgh.

1746: Appointed secretary to General St. Clair.

1751: Published “An Enquiry concerning Principles of Morals”.

1752: Worked as a keeper of the Advocates Library, Edinburgh, where he wrote “My Own Life”.

1757: Published Four Dissertations: The Natural History of Religion, Of the Passions, Of Tragedy, Of the Standard of Taste.

1763: Wasappointed private secretary to Lord Hertford.

1767: Served in London as Under Secretary of State for the Northern Department

1768: Settled in Edinburgh.

1776: Died of cancer.