How Did David Hume Contribute To The Enlightenment?

The Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment began around the year 1660 and ended around 1770. These 110 years were an important epistemological shift in history. The time period leading up to the Enlightenment was the Renaissance in which was a time focused on the beauty of mankind. During the Renaissance the arts flourished and there was a re-birth of the use of the classics, people also began to question the authority of the Church. When the Enlightenment came about the questioning progressed even more. They no longer accepted the answers that were not backed by significant evidence. This search for the answer to the question “why?” allowed for the development of science and scientific research. In search for answers the King chartered the Royal Society which was funded to look into all aspects of science. Their purpose was to look at anything and everything through a scientific lens and then publish their findings to the public. From this group came the acknowledgements of many great writers, scientists, and philosophers two of which are David Hume and Sir Isaac Newton whose works were important parts of the Enlightenment. The readers of Hume would describe him as being the ultimate skeptic. His focus

in Kramnick 199). In other words, our conclusions about what would happen when a billiard-ball collides with another are based on what we have witnessed on prior occasions, and this belief that we can use these prior occasions as evidence to make a hypothesis is based on the belief that the pattern found in nature will not change. An example of Hume used today is the belief that the sun will come up tomorrow because nature will maintain its course. This belief is based on our own personal experience that we collect in our