Author Description

Originally Written As A Collection Of Essays Centred On Human Understanding And The Principles Of Human Nature, The First Enquiry Is In Some Respects The Quintessential Enlightenment Book. It Incorporates A Confidence In Science, A Daring Attempt At New Discoveries About The Human Mind, An Opposition To Superstition And Fanaticism, An Emphasis On Human Nature, A Restrained Scepticism About Traditional Views Of Knowledge And Belief, And A Mood Of Reform And Critique. Hume Regarded The Bulk Of Ancient And Modern Philosophers As Having An Inflated, Even Pretentious, Faith In The Powers Of Human Reason. Many Of These Philosophers Thought That, Using Reason, They Could Establish The Existence And Nature Of God, Identify The Most Basic Entities That Comprise The Universe, And Grasp Eternal Truths Of Morality. Every Section Of The Enquiry Carries The Message That These Philosophers Are Overly Confident. Hume's Theses About The Limitations Of Human Understanding Form The Cement Of His Work In This Book And The Reason For Its Title. The Authoritative Version Of The Text Presented Here Is Based Upon The 1772 Edition That Was Seen Through The Press By Hume Himself. The Editor's Introduction Sets The Work In Its Historical Context, And A Large Body Of Annotations Provide Information About Hume's Sources, Allusions, Citations, And Meanings. A Biographical Appendix Identifies The Many People Mentioned By Hume. Separate And Extensive Bibliographies List The Works Cited By Hume And By The Editor. Hume's Original Index Is Reproduced, Together With A New General Index By The Editor. An Editorial Appendix Establishes The Substantive Variants In All The Editions Of The Work And Explains Editorial Emendations To The Text.--jacket. Of The Different Species Of Philosophy -- Of The Origin Of Ideas -- Of The Association Of Ideas -- Sceptical Doubts Concerning The Operations Of The Understanding -- Sceptical Solution Of These Doubts -- Of Probability -- Of The Idea Of Necessary Connexion --