Our history

In 1984 Alan Peacock returned to Edinburgh with the vision of creating a new independent research institute. It would be distinctive in having a Scottish base, an agenda linking economics and other public policy areas, and would be vigorously independent of government.

By 1985, a Chairman, a Board of Trustees and funding was in place. The first Chair of Trustees, Sir Gerald Elliot and the first Executive Director, Professor Alan Peacock. They chose the name of the institute in recognition of David Hume's reputation for sceptical inquiry.

This belief in the power of discourse is upheld by the Institute today. David Hume often questioned the received wisdom of his time and his critique of religion in an era intolerant of rational enquiry brought him accusations of heresy. It recently came to light that Hume also expressed racist views in some of his writings. We reject these as abhorrent.

DHI is committed to championing a prosperous, sustainable, inclusive and fair Scotland. We believe in the power of diversity of thought and in the value of bringing people together in an atmosphere of respectful debate. We listen to voices from across society and are unafraid to challenge established thinking or power structures.

Further reading:

Kuenssberg, Nick and Lomas, Gillian. (eds) (1995) The David Hume Institute. The First Decade. Edinburgh: The David Hume Institute

N. Kuenssberg (ed.), Argument Amongst Friends: Twenty Five Years of Sceptical Enquiry . Edinburgh: The David Hume Institute.