Books by David Hume

David Hume's enduring reputation as the first modern thinker to develop a systematically naturalistic philosophy tends to obscure the fact that he was more famous among his contemporaries as a historian. Covering almost 1,800 years, The History of England from the Invasion of Julius Caesar to the Revolution in 1688 was the work that established Hume's reputation in his own time. Hume saw English history as a process of the evolution from a government of will to a government of law. He believed that political, social, and economic liberty was neither inevitable nor necessary, but contingent and dependent for its preservation on an understanding of the conditions that gave rise to it and the institutional arrangements that sustain it. This argument, which runs through all six volumes, expressed in Hume's masterful prose, continues to make the History a valuable study for the modern reader. This Liberty Fund edition is based on the edition of 1778, the last to contain corrections by Hume. The typography has been modernized for ease of reading. Hume's own index to the entire work may be found at the conclusion of Volume VI.

Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives - and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are. One of the most important thinkers ever to write in English, the Empiricist David Hume liberated philosophy from the superstitious constraints of religion; here, he argues that all are free to choose between life and death, considers the nature of personal taste and succinctly criticises common philosophies of the time.

Hume's comprehensive effort to form an observationally grounded study of human nature employs John Locke's empiric principles to construct a theory of knowledge from which to evaluate metaphysical ideas. A key to modern studies of 18th-century Western philosophy, the "Treatise" considers numerous classic philosophical issues, including causation, existence, freedom and necessity, and morality.

One of the most significant works of Western philosophy, Hume's Treatise was published in 1739-40, before he was thirty years old. A pinnacle of English empiricism, it is a comprehensive attempt to apply scientific methods of observation to a study of human nature, and a vigorous attack upon the principles of traditional metaphysical thought. With masterly eloquence, Hume denies the immortality of the soul and the reality of space; considers the manner in which we form concepts of identity, cause and effect; and speculates upon the nature of freedom, virtue and emotion. Opposed both to metaphysics and to rationalism, Hume's philosophy of informed scepticism sees man not as a religious creation, nor as a machine, but as a creature dominated by sentiment, passion and appetite.

A study of the work of the influencial 18th-century British philosopher, David Hume. Whilst Hume's work covers most areas of philosophy, this book presents his enquiry into the principles of morals, offers a fully annotated text and draws on advances from earlier publications.

Reprinted from the posthumous edition of 1777 and edited with introduction, comparative tables of contents, and analytical index by L. A. Selby-Bigge. Third edition with text revised and notes by P. H. Nidditch.

"A Treatise of Human Nature" (1739-40), David Hume's comprehensive attempt to base philosophy on a new, observationally grounded study of human nature, is one of the most important texts in Western philosophy. This volume offers the Treatise, Hume's abstract, annotation and explanation.

In the posthumously published Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, the Enlightenment philosopher David Hume attacked many of the traditional arguments for the existence of God, expressing the belief that religion is founded on ignorance and irrational fears. Though calm and courteous in tone - at times even tactfully ambiguous - the conversations between Hume's vividly realized fictional figures form perhaps the most searching case ever mounted against orthodox Christian theological thinking and the 'deism' of the time, which pointed to the wonders of creation as conclusive evidence of God's Design. Hume's characters debate these issues with extraordinary passion, lucidity and humour, in one of the most compelling philosophical works ever written.

Among the many insights that author expounds in this work is that morality is grounded in feelings, not in knowledge. Based on moral sentiment, people naturally value agreeable qualities and shun disagreeable ones.