Hume, David

Categories: Biographical notes

David Hume (1711 – 1776) was a Scottish Philosopher who wrote on a wide range of topics. He is often seen as an empiricist (cf. rationalist) who emphasised that our knowledge is based on experience of the world, although he thought the empiricist-rationalism dichotomy was flawed. He argued that our understanding of cause and effect in the world was based on observing repeated examples of patters of observation that lead to a habit of mind. In that sense, his thinking can be seen in modern terms as constructivist.

 

Author: Keith

Former school and college science teacher, teacher educator, research supervisor, and research methods lecturer. Emeritus Professor of Science Education at the University of Cambridge.