BBC Radio Shetland

In the Footsteps

Factual: Life Stories

Well known Scots go in search of their Scottish heroes

In the Footsteps: David Hume

David Hume

30/05/2011

BBC Radio Scotland - In the Footsteps, David Hume

Richard Holloway goes in the footsteps of David Hume, the famous 'atheist philosopher'.

Superstar philosophers who communicate like human beings and who'd be the life and soul of the party are a rare breed, but that's David Hume in a nutshell.

Born 300 years ago in 1711, David Hume thought the progress of civilisation depended on ordinary people learning how to think and form opinions about the events of the day. But Hume's thought was also a bombshell. In an age of universal religious belief, he was considered to be an atheist. 

His philosophy raised such strong arguments that it is still widely taught and admired today, however perhaps his most modern realisation was that logic could only take your so far, and then you had to understand people - this quest to reach the public turned him into that most modern of characters - a celebrity historian.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

In the Footsteps

David Hume

Genres

Brand

BBC Radio Shetland

About BBC Radio Scotland