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  • Published: 1 April 1986
  • ISBN: 9780141904641
  • Imprint: Penguin eBooks
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 688

A Treatise of Human Nature




Hume's masterpiece on human nature, attacking traditional religious thought

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.

  • Published: 1 April 1986
  • ISBN: 9780141904641
  • Imprint: Penguin eBooks
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 688

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About the author

David Hume

David Hume (1711-76) was born in Edinburgh and devoted himself to philosophy and literature from an early age. In 1739-40, he published his now highly regarded work, A Treatise of Human Nature. He worked as a tutor, judge advocate, librarian, diplomat and senior civil servant, as well as writing further works such as Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion and a six-volume History of England.

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