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[[Image:65375.jpg|right|thumb|250px|David Hume]]

'''David Hume''' (1711-1776) was a [[Scottish]] [[philosopher]] and [[historian]] who promoted empiricism and [[naturalism]] over [[spiritual]]ity.  However, the ''Stanford Encylopedia of Philosophy'' states the following regarding Hume: "[A]lthough many of Hume's own contemporaries were happy to label Hume an '[[atheism|atheist]]', our own contemporaries are more divided on this issue."<ref>http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hume-religion/#10</ref>  He was [[skeptic]]al towards [[religion]], and his major philosophical works include ''A Treatise on Human Nature'', ''An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals'', and ''Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion''.  He also wrote an attack against the occurrence [http://www1.bartleby.com/37/3/14.html of miracles], though it is now believed to be somewhat [[tautology| tautological]], and the wide-ranging ''History of England'', which covered the history of [[Great Britain]] from the time of [[Julius Caesar]] to 1688. Many of his quotes have survived to this day, including "You can tell what is inside a person's soul by what comes out if it."

'''David Hume''' (1711-1776) was a [[Scottish]] [[philosopher]] and [[historian]] who promoted empiricism and [[naturalism]] over [[spiritual]]ity.  However, the ''Stanford Encylopedia of Philosophy'' states the following regarding Hume: "Although many of Hume's own contemporaries were happy to label Hume an '[[atheism|atheist]]', our own contemporaries are more divided on this issue."<ref>http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hume-religion/#10</ref>  He was [[skeptic]]al towards [[religion]], and his major philosophical works include ''A Treatise on Human Nature'', ''An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals'', and ''Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion''.  He also wrote an attack against the occurrence [http://www1.bartleby.com/37/3/14.html of miracles], though it is now believed to be somewhat [[tautology| tautological]], and the wide-ranging ''History of England'', which covered the history of [[Great Britain]] from the time of [[Julius Caesar]] to 1688. Many of his quotes have survived to this day, including "You can tell what is inside a person's soul by what comes out if it."

Hume has been criticized by many theists for his atheistic approach, and [[Charles Darwin]] declared Hume to have been his central influence, and "Darwin's bulldog" [[Thomas Henry Huxley]] admired him so much that he wrote a book about him called ''Hume''.  Furthermore, Hume was denied several academic positions - such as the coveted chair of moral philosophy at the University of Edinburgh - possibly because he was so commonly assumed to be irreligious and much of morality was considered to come from God. One admirer of Hume was [[Adam Smith]] who, upon Hume's death in 1776, wrote the following to his friend William Strahan:

Hume has been criticized by many theists for his atheistic approach, and [[Charles Darwin]] declared Hume to have been his central influence, and "Darwin's bulldog" [[Thomas Henry Huxley]] admired him so much that he wrote a book about him called ''Hume''.  Furthermore, Hume was denied several academic positions - such as the coveted chair of moral philosophy at the University of Edinburgh - possibly because he was so commonly assumed to be irreligious and much of morality was considered to come from God. One admirer of Hume was [[Adam Smith]] who, upon Hume's death in 1776, wrote the following to his friend William Strahan: