Hume is our Religion." This statement by 19th century British idealist
philosopher James Hutchison Stirling reflects a unique position that
David Hume holds in intellectual thought. Hume profoundly impacted all
of the disciplines noted by Stirling, not only during Hume's own life,
but for generations after and on to our own day. Part of his fame and
importance owes to his boldly skeptical approach to a range of
philosophical subjects. He questioned common notions of personal
identity, and argued that there is no permanent "self" that continues
over time. He dismissed standard accounts of causality and argued that
our conceptions of cause/effect relations are grounded in habits of
thinking, rather than in the perception of causal forces in the
external world itself. He argued that it is unreasonable to believe
testimonies of alleged miraculous events, and, accordingly, hints that
we should reject religions that are founded on miracle testimonies.
Against the common belief of the time that God's existence could be
proven through a design or causal argument, Hume offered compelling
criticisms of standard theistic proofs. Also, against the common view
that God plays an important role in the creation and reinforcement of
moral values, Hume offered one of the first purely secular moral
theories, which grounded morality in the pleasing and useful
consequences that result from our actions. For additional articles on
Hume in this encyclopedia see the following: David Hume: Metaphysical
and Epistemological Theories, David Hume: Moral Theory, David Hume:
Writings on Religion, and David Hume: Essays, Moral, Political and
Literary.
1. Life
David Hume was born in 1711 to a moderately wealthy family from
Berwickshire Scotland, near Edinburgh. His background was politically
Whiggish and religiously Calvinistic. As a child he faithfully
attended the local Church of Scotland pastored by his uncle. Hume was
educated by his widowed mother until he left for the University of
Edinburgh at the age of eleven. His letters describe how as a young
student he took religion seriously and obediently followed a list of
moral guidelines taken from The Whole Duty of Man, a popular
Calvinistic devotional.
Leaving the University of Edinburgh at around age fifteen to pursue
his education privately, he was encouraged to consider a career in
law, but his interests turned to philosophy. During these years of
private study he began raising serious questions about religion, as he
recounts in the following letter:
Tis not long ago that I burn'd an old Manuscript Book, wrote
before I was twenty; which contain'd, Page after Page, the gradual
Progress of my Thoughts on that head [i.e. religious belief]. It begun
with an anxious Search after Arguments, to confirm the common Opinion:
Doubts stole in, dissipated, return'd, were again dissipated, return'd
again.
Although his manuscript book was destroyed, several pages of Hume's
study notes survive from his early twenties. These show a
preoccupation with the subjects of proof of God's existence and
atheism, particularly as he read on these topics in classical Greek
and Latin texts and in Pierre Bayle's skeptical Historical and
Critical Dictionary. During these years of private study, some of
which was in France, Hume composed his three-volume Treatise of Human
Nature, which was published anonymously in two installments before he
was thirty (1739, 1740). The Treatise explores several philosophical
topics such as space, time, causality, external objects, the passions,
free will, and morality, offering original and often skeptical
appraisals of these notions. Although religious belief is not the
subject of any specific section of the Treatise, it is a recurring
theme. Book I of the Treatise was unfavorably reviewed in the History
of the Works of the Learned with a succession of sarcastic comments.
Although scholars today recognize it as a philosophical masterpiece,
Hume was disappointed with the minimal interest his book spawned.
In 1741 and 1742 Hume published his two-volume Essays, Moral and
Political. The essays were written in a popular style and met with
better success than the Treatise. In 1744-1745 Hume was a candidate
for the Chair of Moral Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. The
position was to be vacated by John Pringle, and the leading candidates
were Hume and William Cleghorn. The Edinburgh Town Council was
responsible for electing a replacement. Critics opposed Hume by
condemning his anti-religious writings. Chief among the critics was
clergyman William Wishart (d. 1752), the Principal of the University
of Edinburgh. Lists of allegedly dangerous propositions from Hume's
Treatise circulated, presumably penned by Wishart. In the face of such
strong opposition, the Edinburgh Town Council consulted the Edinburgh
ministers. Hoping to win over the clergy, Hume composed a point by
point reply to the circulating lists of dangerous propositions. It was
published as A Letter from a Gentleman to his Friend in Edinburgh. The
clergy were not dissuaded, and 12 of the 15 ministers voted against
Hume. Hume quickly withdrew his candidacy. In 1745 Hume accepted an
invitation from General St Clair to attend him as secretary. He wore
the uniform of an officer, and accompanied the general on an
expedition against Canada (which ended in an incursion on the coast of
France) and to an embassy post in the courts of Vienna and Turin.
In 1748 he added to the above collection an essay titled "Of National
Characters." In a lengthy footnote to this piece, Hume attacks the
character of the clergy, accusing this profession of being motivated
by ambition, conceit, and revenge. This footnote became a favorite
target of attack by the clergy. Given the success of his Essays, Hume
was convinced that the poor reception of his Treatise was caused by
its style rather than by its content. In 1748 he published his Enquiry
Concerning Human Understanding, a more popular rendition of Book I of
his Treatise. The Enquiry also includes two sections not found in the
Treatise and which contain fairly direct attacks on religious belief:
"Of Miracles" and a dialogue titled "Of a Particular Providence and of
a Future State."
In 1751 Hume published his Enquiry concerning the Principles of
Morals, which recasts in a very different form parts of Book III of
his Treatise. Although this work does not attack religion directly, it
does so indirectly by establishing a system of morality on utility and
human sentiments alone, and without appeal to divine moral commands.
Critics such as James Balfour criticized Hume's theory for being
Godless. However, by the end of the century Hume was recognized as the
founder of the moral theory of utility. Utilitarian political theorist
Jeremy Bentham acknowledges Hume's direct influence upon him. The same
year Hume also published his Political Discourses, which drew
immediate praise and influenced economic thinkers such as Adam Smith,
Godwin, and Thomas Malthus.
In 1751-1752 Hume sought a philosophy chair at the University of
Glasgow, and was again unsuccessful. In 1752 Hume's employment as
librarian of the Advocate's Library in Edinburgh provided him with the
resources to pursue his interest in history. There he wrote much of
his highly successful six-volume History of England (published from
1754 to 1762). The first volume was unfavorably received, partially
for its defense of Charles I, and partially for two sections which
attack Christianity. In one passage Hume notes that the first
Protestant reformers were fanatical or "inflamed with the highest
enthusiasm" in their opposition to Roman Catholic domination. In the
second passage he labels Roman Catholicism a superstition which "like
all other species of superstition… rouses the vain fears of unhappy
mortals." The most vocal attack against Hume's History came from
Daniel MacQueen in his 300 page Letters on Mr. Hume's History.
MacQueen combs through Hume's first volume of the History, exposing
all the allegedly "loose and irreligious sneers" Hume makes against
Christianity. Ultimately, this negative response led Hume to delete
the two controversial passages from succeeding editions of the
History.
At about this time Hume also wrote his two most substantial works on
religion: The Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion and The Natural
History of Religion. The Natural History appeared in 1757, but, on the
advice of friends who wished to steer Hume away from religious
controversy, the Dialogues remained unpublished until 1779, three
years after his death. The Natural History aroused controversy even
before it was made public. In 1756 a volume of Hume's essays titled
Five Dissertations was printed and ready for distribution. The essays
included (1) "The Natural History of Religion," (2) "Of the Passions,"
(3) "Of Tragedy," (4) "Of Suicide," and (5) "Of the Immortality of the
Soul." The latter two essays made direct attacks on common religious
doctrines by defending a person's moral right to commit suicide and by
criticizing the idea of life after death. Early copies were passed
around, and someone of influence threatened to prosecute Hume's
publisher if the book was distributed as is. The printed copies of
Five Dissertations were then physically altered, with a new essay "Of
the Standard of Taste" inserted in place of the two removed essays.
Hume also took this opportunity to alter two particularly offending
paragraphs in the Natural History. The essays were then bound with the
new title Four Dissertations and distributed in January, 1757.
In the years following Four Dissertations, Hume completed his last
major literary work, The History of England. In 1763, at age 50, Hume
was invited to accompany the Earl of Hertford to the embassy to Paris,
with a near prospect of being his secretary. He eventually accepted,
and remarks at the reception he received in Paris "from men and women
of all ranks and stations." He returned to Edinburgh in 1766, and
continued developing relations with the greatest minds of the time.
Among these was Jean Jacques Rousseau who in 1766 was ordered out of
Switzerland by the government in Berne. Hume offered Rousseau refuge
in England and secured him a government pension. In England, Rousseau
became suspicious of plots, and publicly charged Hume with conspiring
to ruin his character, under the appearance of helping him. Hume
published a pamphlet defending his actions and was exonerated. Another
secretary appointment took him away from 1767-1768. Returning again to
Edinburgh, his remaining years were spent revising and refining his
published works, and socializing with friends in Edinburgh's
intellectual circles. In 1776, at age 65, he died from an internal
disorder which had plagued him for many months.
After his death, Hume's name took on new significance as several of
his previously unpublished works appeared. The first was a brief
autobiography, My Own Life, which many have praised as the best short
autobiography in English. Even this unpretentious work aroused
religious controversy. As Hume's friends, Adam Smith and S.J. Pratt,
published affectionate eulogies describing how he died with no concern
for an afterlife, religious critics responded by condemning this
unjustifiable admiration of Hume's infidelity. Two years later, in
1779, Hume's Dialogues appeared. Again, the response was mixed.
Admirers of Hume considered it a masterfully written work, while
religious critics branded it as dangerous to religion. Finally, in
1782, Hume's two suppressed essays on suicide and immortality were
published. Their reception was almost unanimously negative.
2. Main Controversies
The entire sequence of critical reactions to Hume's writings
constitutes a record of his literary reputation. A recurring reaction
among his readers is that he tried to be original in everything he
wrote. As one critic states,
The great object of Mr. Hume's ambition, as we are informed by
himself, was literary fame. And in order to excite public attention,
he seems to have thought it necessary to be singular. Accordingly, we
find an affectation of singularity of sentiment, very predominant in
his writings. [Joseph Towers, Observations on Mr. Hume's History of
England (1778)]
In the eyes of his readers, this drive for singularity manifested
itself in philosophical scepticism, religious infidelity, and
political arch-conservativism. The more he wrote and critics
responded, the more an aura of intrigue and even danger developed
around him. This nefarious reputation became so pronounced that it
often encumbered his social life and made him the target of verbal
attacks and gross misrepresentation. Whatever views Hume may have
voiced in his scholarly writings, in his private life he was
unpretentious, charitable, witty, and, above all, sociable. As his
friends tell us, he rarely engaged in serious philosophical discourse
at social gatherings, and, if he did, he graciously accepted rebuttals
to his sceptical and antireligious views. Critics who knew this side
of Hume treated him with dignity. Others – particularly those
unacquainted with him – showed no such respect.
From the time of his first published works, Hume was engaged in
various public controversies. He failed to receive teaching
appointments at both Edinburgh and Glasgow largely because of his
reputation as a religious infidel. His essay "Of Miracles" (1748)
sparked critical reactions from clergy of different denominations. The
first published volume of his History (1754) also struck a raw nerve
because of its insinuation that Christianity was motivated by
fanaticism and superstition. One of the most public of the early
controversies, though, involved the efforts of some conservative
clergy in the Scottish Church to excommunicate – or at least censure –
Hume and his colleague Henry Home, Lord Kames, for their infidel
writings. One of the instigators of this effort was retired Clergyman
George Anderson (1677–1756) – although in his retired status he could
not directly participate in the formal proceedings themselves.
Pamphlets were published on the subject, pro and contra, and, in 1756
the case against Hume was brought before a committee of the General
Assembly – the Scottish Church's highest judicial body. The
conservative side argued that Hume posed a genuine threat to religion,
and it was the Church's duty to take action against him. The moderate
side argued that Hume's views were self-refuting and, in any event, as
a non-believer, censuring him would have no impact. In a vote of 17 to
50, the decision was made to not pursue the matter further.
The previous summer's victory for Hume, though, was short-lived, as he
quickly became involved in a dispute with the Church of Scotland
regarding the morality of stage plays. The central figure in the
controversy was Hume's close friend, clergyman John Home, who received
his preaching license in 1745. For a couple years he had been refining
a tragic play titled Douglas and, while his initial efforts of having
it produced in London failed, his local friends supported him for what
turned out to be a very successful Edinburgh production. This raised
two concerns among conservative Scottish clergy. First, stage plays in
Edinburgh were both infrequent and, so they believed, unwholesome;
second, the idea of a clergyman engaged in such a production was
scandalous. Hume entered the controversy by writing a dedication to
Home, which was prefaced to the philosopher's Four Dissertations
(1757). In this he extols Douglas as "one of the most interesting and
pathetic pieces that was ever exhibited on any theatre" and says that
Home possesses "the true theatric genius of Shakespear and Otway,
refined from the unhappy barbarism of the one, and licentiousness of
the other." Hume's public endorsement forced London critics to take
notice. At the same time, though, it inexorably linked Home the
clergyman with Hume the infidel. In Scotland, conservative clergy
attacked Home's immoral playwriting hobby and attempted to take action
against clergy who attended its production. In London, critics laughed
at Hume's overblown praise of a mediocre play. One writer, John
Hawkesworth, stated that Hume's "critical stocks" were thereby
"reduced almost to bankruptcy." Home himself had no choice but to
resign his church position. A highlight of this controversy is John
MacLaurin's Philosopher's Opera (1757), which lampoons Hume, Home and
their Edinburgh supporters.
The controversy surrounding Home's Douglas was largely a local matter.
Ten years later he was embroiled in an international controversy
involving his attempts at hospitality towards Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
Born in Geneva and fleeing that city at age 16, Rousseau (1712–1778)
moved to Savoy where, under the influence of his benefactress Baronne
de Warens, he transformed from an uneducated apprentice to a man of
letters. At age 30 he moved to Paris and, with the young Denis
Diderot, formed an intellectual circle – the philosophes. In 1762 his
two greatest theoretical works appeared, Émile and The Social
Contract. The former of these sparked a religious controversy, and,
fearing imprisonment, Rousseau fled Paris for Switzerland. During the
next few years he wrote in defence of himself, but in 1765 was forced
out of Switzerland as well. Beginning in January 1766, at Hume's
invitation, he spent a year in England at a rural home that Hume
arranged for him. Through political connections Hume even secured a
pension for Rousseau from King George III. In the minds of many
British men of letters, though, Rousseau was eccentric, arrogant, and
had a martyr complex. Capitalizing on these preconceptions, British
novelist Horace Walpole wrote a satirical letter in the name of
Frederick, King of Prussia, inviting Rousseau to take refuge in that
country. Since Rousseau thrives on misfortune, Walpole writes, "I am a
king, and can make you as miserable as you can wish." The letter was
printed in a London newspaper, where Rousseau first saw it.
Humiliated, he was convinced that Hume was in on the joke and had even
invited Rousseau to England to make him an object of ridicule.
Rousseau refused his pension and, in a letter to Hume dated July 10,
threatened to go public with his accusations. Hume then preemptively
published A Concise and Genuine Account of the Dispute between Mr.
Hume and Mr. Rousseau: with the Letters that Passed between them
during their Controversy (1766). The pamphlet exonerated Hume, but
also made Rousseau look mentally unstable. A subsequent pamphlet
against Rousseau by Voltaire reinforced public perception of his
mental problems. According to Hume's critics, publishing the Concise
and Genuine Account was overkill, and violated Hume's duty as a host
to treat his emotionally sensitive guest with dignity.
Four years later the tables were turned on Hume when he himself became
the object of what he felt was an undignified assault. His assailant
was James Beattie (1735–1803), the young professor of Moral Philosophy
and Logic at Marischal College, Aberdeen, who believed that Hume's
sceptical and anti-religious philosophy posed a public threat to
religion and morality. His work, An Essay on the Nature and
Immutability of Truth (1770), relentlessly attacks Hume's philosophy
as it appears in his Treatise of Human Nature, published 30 years
earlier. Beattie was soon joined by the blind poet Thomas Blacklock –
Hume's former friend – who, in a series of letters in an Edinburgh
newspaper, justified Beattie's attack. Hume only once refers to
Beattie in his surviving letters, calling him "that bigotted silly
Fellow." Outside sources, though, report that Hume's reaction was very
severe:
Was there any particular BOOK [i.e., Beattie's Essay] ever written
against him [i.e., Hume], that shook his system to pieces about his
ears, and reduced it to a heap of ruins, the success and eclat of
which might be supposed to have hurt his mind, and to have affected
his health? Was there any AUTHOR [i,e., Beattie] whose name his
friends never dared to mention before him, and warned all strangers,
that were introduced to him, against doing it, because he never
failed, when by any accident it was done, to fly out into a transport
of passion and swearing? [George Horne, Letter to Adam Smith (1777)]
Beattie was aware of Hume's reaction, and was similarly aware of
attempts by some of Hume's friends to tarnish his reputation in
retaliation. Beattie prevailed, though, and was honoured by gaining an
audience with the King and Queen, and receiving a royal pension.
Hume's strong feeling about Beattie is somewhat of a puzzle in view of
the mountain of critical attacks that appeared against Hume during his
life. James Boswell, though, offers some explanation:
The writers who attacked David Hume before Beattie took the lash
in hand, treated him with so much deference that they had no effect.
He was cased in a covering of respect. But Beattie stripped him of all
his assumed dignity, and having laid his back bare, scourged him till
he smarted keenly, and cursed again. David was on very civil terms
with his former opponents, being treated by them as Dr. Shebbeare was
in the pillory, who was being allowed to wear a fine powdered flowing
wig. But he was virulent against Beattie, as I have witnessed, for
Beattie treated him as an enemy to morals and religion deserved.
[James Boswell, Boswelliana (1884)]
A few months before his death, Hume composed a short autobiography
titled "My Own Life." Two major events that are conspicuously missing
from his account – as later critics have observed – are his disputes
with Rousseau and Beattie.
3. Posthumous Controversies
Hume was in rapid decline during the last few months of his life from
what he described as "a habitual diarrhoea of more than a year's
standing;" a similar disorder led to his mother's death. He became
emaciated and fatigued, and was in bed much of the time. On the advice
of his physician, he took a journey during May and June 1776, hoping
that the change would improve his health. Some of the events were
recorded by John Home, who accompanied him much of the way. There was
some improvement, but only temporary, and he returned to his Edinburgh
home to prepare for death. In his final months he regularly received
guests, and we have accounts of visits by James Boswell, William
Cullen, and Adam Smith. We read in these accounts that he was
cheerful, fully lucid, and unflinching in his infidelity. While
Cullen's and Boswell's accounts were not published until later
centuries, Smith's appeared a half-year after Hume's death and sparked
instant controversy. Two parts of Smith's account were particularly
offensive. First, parodying Lucian's classic Dialogues of the Dead,
which he was reading at the time, Hume devised several comical excuses
for why Charon should not ferry him across the river Styx into Hades,
one of which was so that he could see "the downfal of some of the
prevailing systems of superstition." The second was Smith's concluding
comment that "Upon the whole, I have always considered him, both in
his lifetime and since his death, as approaching as nearly to the idea
of a perfectly wise and virtuous man, as perhaps the nature of human
frailty will permit." The idea of an infidel being the model of virtue
was shocking. Even one hundred years after the fact, religious writers
fumed over Hume's irreverent attitude towards death and Smith's
eulogy, as if this was recent news.
An intriguing twist to the story of Hume's death surfaced at the turn
of the 19th century, but was soon forgotten and has since gone
unnoticed by Hume scholars. Shortly after Hume's death, it appears
that Hume's housekeeper – probably Margaret Irvine – was riding in a
stagecoach with three other passengers – including the father-in-law
of Hume's friend James Edmonstone. The subject of Hume's death arose,
and the passengers were commenting on the philosopher's peaceful state
of mind. Irvine then volunteered her firsthand experience. Hume indeed
appeared tranquil in the presence of visitors, Irvine related, but it
was all a show. In private, he was gripped with anguish to the point
that his bed shook and he did not want to be left alone; he stated
that he had been in search of light all his life but was now in
greater darkness than ever. Five items discuss this story from what
seems to be three independent sources. The most detailed narrative of
Irvine's account is "On the Death-Bed of Hume the Historian" in the
Christian Observer (1831) which reprints an article that "appeared
many years ago in an Edinburgh newspaper." The most convincing
authentication of the story is in Alexander Haldane's Memoirs (1852),
which traces it from Hume's housekeeper, to Mr. Abercromby of
Tullibody (Edmonstone's father-in-law) who was on the coach, to
Abercromby's neighbours, the Haldane family. What can we say about the
authenticity of this story? First, it is reasonable to believe that
Margaret Irvine was on a stagecoach with Abercromby and others, and
that she indeed discussed Hume's dying days – though probably not in
the exact words that the narrators ascribe to her. Second, it is
reasonable to believe that she witnessed Hume in anguish, especially
in his final weeks, and that Hume's mannerisms changed when his guests
left. Third, it is not clear, however, whether the anguish she
perceived was the result of Hume's reflections on an afterlife, his
possible declining mental state, or his suffering from a terminal
illness. In any event, we must conclude that the reports of Hume's
thoroughly tranquil decline by Boswell, Cullen, and Smith are not as
accurate as history has assumed.
Through Smith's account, the public perception of Hume was that, in
spite of his infidelity, he was a morally virtuous person and that he
died peacefully with no concern about an afterlife. This
characterization inevitably led to comparisons between Hume and
recently deceased believers. The first of these was William Dodd, an
Anglican clergyman who was executed for forgery two months before
Hume's death. The contrast here was between Hume the virtuous infidel
and Dodd the immoral believer, which was explored in an anonymous work
titled A Philosophical and Religious Dialogue in the Shades (1778).
The second of these was Samuel Johnson, who died in 1784. Johnson had
a well-known fear of death that threw him into fits of rage and
periods of depression. The Christian faith, it was commonly presumed,
offers special comfort to dying believers, and the deaths of Hume and
Johnson defied this conventional wisdom from opposite ends. Using Hume
and Johnson as models, William Agutter's On the Differences Between
the Deaths of the Righteous and the Wicked (1800) explores the dying
attitudes of infidels and believers.
Adam Smith was not the only one who wrote a eulogy of Hume, and others
that did typically met with harsh reception. Within a few weeks of
Hume's death, John Home wrote a series of anonymous letters to the
London Chronicle in praise of Hume's character and writings. This was
followed by Home's anonymous and equally flattering "Account of the
Life and Writings of David Hume," which met with sharp attack. Perhaps
around this time he also wrote an unpublished "Sketch of the Character
of Mr. Hume." Samuel Jackson Pratt wrote a lengthy Apology for the
Life of David Hume (1777), which, alluding to the tranquil death of
the famed infidel, he opens with the extraordinary statement that
"David Hume is dead! Never were the pillars of Orthodoxy so
desperately shaken, as they are now, by that event." Several critics,
particularly George Horne, attacked Pratt's work for its poor style
and substance. In late 1776 an anonymous biography of Hume appeared
titled "An Account of the Life and Writings of David Hume," which both
praised Hume and attacked Beattie. When the "Account" was reprinted a
half year later in an Edinburgh newspaper, it met with criticism from
defenders of Beattie.
When the initial interest surrounding Hume's death subsided, works
continued to appear that emphasized his reputation as an author and
infidel, some of which were fictional pieces. The most notable of
these is Henry Mackenzie's "Story of La Roche," which, while
attempting to remain true to Hume's character, presents a completely
fictional account of the young Hume's personal acquaintance with an
elderly Swiss minister and his young daughter. Among the more
interesting indications of Hume's posthumous reputation is a
controversy surrounding the 1805 candidacy of John Leslie for Chair of
Mathematics at the University of Edinburgh. A brief footnote in one of
Leslie's writings endorses what purports to be Hume's view of
causality. Scottish clergy from the Tory side of the moderate party
opposed Leslie in favour of a candidate who was a clergyman from their
own faction. Capitalizing on Hume's controversial reputation, they
brought the matter before the General Assembly of the Church of
Scotland and argued that a man who supports Hume's philosophy is unfit
for professorship. Ironically, the conservative clergy who supported
Leslie were unaffected by such anti-Humean arguments, and,
constituting a majority with the Whig moderates, they stopped the
process. Leslie's candidacy ultimately succeeded. An animated account
of the Leslie controversy is presented by Henry Cockburn in Memorials
of his Time (1859).
4. Hume's Published Writings
There are many published editions of Hume's writings. The best of
these are the volumes are The Philosophical Works of David Hume
(1874-1875), ed. T.H. Green and T.H. Grose; Hume's Treatise (Oxford,
1978) and Enquiries (Oxford, 1975) ed. L.A. Selby-Bigge and P.H.
Nidditch; Hume's History of England (Liberty Classics, 1983); Hume's
Essays, Moral, Political and Literary (Liberty Classics, 1987), ed.
E.F. Miller. Oxford University Press is currently producing a critical
edition of Hume's philosophical writings, edited by T. Beauchamp, M.
Box, D.F. Norton, and M.A. Stewart. Thoemmes Press has published a
ten-volume collection 18th and 19th century critical discussions of
Hume titled Early Responses to Hume's Writings (Thoemmes Press,
1999-2005), ed. J. Fieser. Currently, the best biography of Hume is
E.C. Mossner's The Life of David Hume (Oxford, 1980). For online
e-texts of Hume's writings and some commentaries, see the Hume
Archives. Below is a chronological list of Hume's publications.
(1) A Treatise of Human Nature: Being an Attempt to Introduce the
Experimental Method of Reasoning into Moral Subjects (1739-40).
Notes: in three volumes, published anonymously: Vol. I. Of the
Understanding; Vol. II. Of the Passions. Vol. III. Of Morals. The work
did not sell well, and no subsequent edition of the Treatise appeared
until the early 19th century. This is Hume's principle philosophical
work, the central notions of which were rewritten more popularly in
Philosophical Essays Concerning Human Understanding (1748) and An
Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals (1751).
(2) An Abstract of a Book lately Published; entituled, A Treatise of
Human Nature, &c. Wherein the chief Argument of that Book is farther
Illustrated and Explained (1740).
Notes: 16 page pamphlet, published anonymously as an effort to bring
attention to the Treatise. No subsequent edition of this appeared
until 1938.
(3) Essays, Moral and Political (1741-1742).
Notes: published anonymously in two volumes, in 1741 and 1742
respectively. In subsequent editions some essays were dropped and
others added; the collection was eventually combined with his
Political Discourses (1752) and retitled Essays, Moral, Political and
Literary in Hume's collection of philosophical works, Essays and
Treatises on Several Subjects (1753).
(4) A Letter from a Gentleman to his Friend in Edinburgh: Containing
Some Observations on a Specimen of the Principles concerning Religion
and Morality, said to be maintain'd in a Book lately publish'd,
intituled, A Treatise of Human Nature, &c (1745)
Notes: 34 page pamphlet published anonymously surrounding Hume's
candidacy for candidate for the Chair of Moral Philosophy at the
University of Edinburgh. The pamphlet responds to criticisms regarding
the Treatise.
(5) Philosophical Essays Concerning Human Understanding. By the Author
of the Essays Moral and Political (1748)
Notes: published anonymously; later retitled Enquiry Concerning Human
Understanding. This is a popularized version of key themes that appear
mainly in the Treatise, Book 1.
(6) A True Account of the Behaviour and conduct of Archibald Stewart,
Esq; late Lord Provost of Edinburgh. In a letter to a Friend (1748).
Notes: 51 page pamphlet published anonymously as a defense of
Archibald Stewart, Lord Provost of Edinburgh, surrounding a political
controversy.
(7) An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals. By David Hume, Esq. (1751)
Notes: This is a popularized version of key themes that appear mainly
in the Treatise, Book 3.
(8) The Petition of the Grave and Venerable Bellmen (or Sextons) of
the Church of Scotland (1751)
Notes: anonymous pamphlet surrounding the Church of Scotland's efforts
to increase their stipends.
(9) Political discourses. By David Hume Esq. (1752)
Notes: collection of essays on economic and political subjects, which
was eventually combined with his Essays Moral and Political
(1741-1742) and retitled Essays, Moral, Political and Literary in
Hume's collection of philosophical works, Essays and Treatises on
Several Subjects (1753).
(10) Scotticisms (1752).
Notes: 6 page pamphlet published anonymously, listing Scottish idioms.
(11) The History of England, from the Invasion of Julius Cæsar to the
Revolution in 1688 (1754-1762)
Notes: published in four installments: (a) The history of Great
Britain. Vol. I. Containing the reigns of James I. and Charles I. By
David Hume, Esq. (1754); (b) The history of Great Britain. Vol. II.
Containing the Commonwealth, and the reigns of Charles II. and James
II. By David Hume, Esq. (1757); (c) The history of England, under the
House of Tudor Comprehending the reigns of K. Henry VII. K. Henry
VIII. K. Edward VI. Q. Mary, and Q. Elizabeth. … By David Hume, Esq
(1759); (d) The history of England, from the invasion of Julius Cæsar
to the accession of Henry VII. … By David Hume, Esq. (1762).
(12) Essays and Treatises on Several Subjects. By David Hume, Esq; In
four volumes (1753)
Notes: Hume's collected philosophical works, which includes (a)
Essays, Moral and Political, (b) Philosophical Essays concerning Human
Understanding, (c) Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals, and
(d) Political Discourses. Essays from Four Dissertations (1757) were
later added.
(13) Four Dissertations. I. The Natural History of Religion. II. Of
the Passions. III. Of Tragedy. IV. Of the Standard of Taste. By David
Hume, esq. (1757)
Notes: this volume was originally to include "Of Suicide" and "Of the
Immortality of the Soul," which were removed at the last minute and
appeared in 1783 in an unauthorized posthumous edition. The four
essays in Four Dissertations were later added to various sections of
Essays and Treatises on Several Subjects.
(14) Letter to Critical Review, April 1759, Vol. 7. pp. 323-334
Notes: defense of William Wilkie's epic poem Epigoniad.
(15) Expos‚ succinct de la contestation qui s'est ‚lev‚e entre M. Hume
et M. Rousseau, avec les piŠces justificatives (1766)
Notes: 127 page pamphlet containing letters between Hume and Rousseau,
published anonymously, translated from English by J.B.A. Suard. The
pamphlet was translated back to English in A Concise and Genuine
account of the Dispute between Mr. Hume and Mr. Rousseau: with the
Letters that Passed Between them during their Controversy (1766).
(16) Advertisement to Baron Manstein's Memoirs of Russia, Historical,
Political and Military, from MDCXXVII, to MDCXLIV (1770)
Notes: the opening advertisement in this work is signed by Hume.
(17) The Life of David Hume, Esq. Written by Himself (1777)
Notes: The only authorized edition of this work is that contained in
the 1777 edition of Essays and Treatises on Several Subjects. This
separately published edition includes "Letter from Adam Smith, LL.D.
to William Strahan, Esq".
(18) Dialogues Concerning Natural religion. By David Hume, Esq. (1779)
Notes: posthumous edition from manuscript, contains Hume's most
detailed attack on natural religion.
(19) Essays on Suicide, and the Immortality of the Soul, ascribed to
the late David Hume, Esq. Never before Published. With Remarks,
intended as an Antidote to the Poison contained in these
Performances, by the Editor. To which is added, Two Letters on
Suicide, from Rosseau's [sic] Eloisa (1783)
Notes: unauthorized publication of the two essays that were originally
associated with Four Dissertations.
5. Collections of Hume's Letters
There is as yet no exhaustive or critical edition of Hume's letters.
The known correspondence have been appeared in various publications
since Hume's death. The most noteworthy are listed below in
chronological order.
(1) Thomas Edward Ritchie, An Account of the life and Writings of
David Hume, Esq. (1807)
Notes: First lengthy biography of Hume with quotations from letters by
Hume. The originals of some of these letters have since been lost.
(2) Private Correspondences of David Hume with Several Distinguished
Persons, between the years 1761 and 1776. Now first Published from the
Originals (1820).
Notes: Anonymously edited collection, contains the first publication
of Hume's letters to the Comtesse de Boufflers, the original
manuscripts of which have not since surfaced.
(3) Thomas Murray, Letters of David Hume and Extracts from Letters
Referring to Him (1841)
Notes: letters from Hume's service under the Marquis of Annandale.
(4) John Hill Burton, Life and Correspondences of David Hume. From the
Papers Bequeathed by his Nephew to the Royal Society of Edinburgh; and
other Original Sources. (1846)
Notes: two-volume biography, based on Hume's personal collection of
hundreds of letters and manuscripts in possession of the Royal Society
of Edinburgh (now in possession of the National Library of Scottland).
(5) John Hill Burton, Letters of Eminent Persons Addressed to David
Hume. From the Papers bequeathed by his Nephew to the Royal Society of
Edinburgh. (1849)
Notes: collection of letters to Hume from Hume's personal collection
of letters and manuscripts.
(6) G. Birbeck Hill, Letters of David Hume to William Strahan (1888)
Notes: collection of previously unpublished letters to and from Hume
and his printer William Strahan.
(7) J.Y.T. Greig, Letters of David Hume (1932)
Notes: two volumes, currently the best collection of Hume's letters
(along with the following item).
(8) R. Klibansky and E.C. Mossner, New Letters of David Hume (1954)
Notes: volume of new letters, aimed as a supplement to Greig's volume.
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