The Philosopher
David Hume was one of Scotland’s greatest thinkers — a philosopher, historian and central figure of the Scottish Enlightenment. Born in Edinburgh in 1711, Hume challenged how people understood knowledge, belief and human nature, arguing that experience and observation — not assumption — should shape what we accept as truth. His work influenced generations of thinkers across the world, helping to lay the foundations of modern philosophy, economics and scientific thought.
The MacGregor Story
Now this is a different kind of power — not the sword, not the land, but the mind. Hume didn’t fight battles on fields; he fought them in ideas. He questioned everything — religion, certainty, authority — and in doing so, he changed the way people think. And that takes a different kind of courage.
It’s a story we recognise, though. That willingness to challenge what’s in front of you, to not simply accept the way things are because they’ve always been that way. It’s the same thread that runs through Highland history — resilience, independence, and a refusal to be told who you are or what to believe.
And that’s why Hume belongs in the story. Because Scotland isn’t just warriors and rebels — it’s thinkers, innovators, and those who reshape the world without ever raising their voice. His legacy lives on not just in books, but in the way we question, the way we reason, and the way we see the world — a quieter strength, but no less powerful.