The Cartesian problem of the external world characterises modern philosophy. Hume tackles this problem in his attempt to establish a new "science of man". Hume's theory of the external body is generally recognised as a sceptical argument; commentators seldom interpret it as a moral theory, nor do they usually find any significant connection between the theory of the external body and the theory of normativity. In this paper, I indicate Hume's theory of the external body as a systematic theory of perceptions which completes the development of perceptions from general ideas to the belief in causation. I then show that the "general point of view" is the principle which underlies this development, which proves to be evidence that there is a parallelism between Hume's epistemology and his moral theory. Hume founds the perception of normativity on the perception of the external body that is defined as the public perception. Thus, perception of the external object culminates in the creation of the system of morality. Unlike the Cartesian concept of the external world as a requirement of reason, Hume's external body constitutes the public world. I argue that Hume's theory replaces the Cartesian scientific view with a moral view as a reliable foundation of human life.

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