An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding

by David Hume, Hugh Ross (Read by)

Overview

As intriguing today as when it was first published, Hume’s An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding is a fascinating exploration into the nature of human knowledge. Using billiard balls, candles, and other colorful examples, Hume conveys the core of his empiricism—that true knowledge can only be gained through sensory experience.

No other philosopher has been more at the forefront of the mind than David Hume; physics, psychology, neuroscience—connections to Hume are everywhere. Here is the book that Immanuel Kant confessed to have awoken him from his “dogmatic slumber.”

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781094012483
Publisher:	Naxos
Publication date:	01/14/2020
Edition description:	Unabridged
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.50(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

David Hume (1711–1776) devoted himself from early youth to “philosophy and great learning.” His Treatise of Human Nature was not well received on publication, but is now viewed as his masterpiece.

Hugh Ross trained at RADA, and has made many appearances on stage, notably for the Royal Shakespeare
Company and at the Royal National Theatre. He has been in the West End in Passion, for which he received an
Olivier Award nomination, and in Tom Stoppard’s The Invention of Love. His many television credits include Between the Lines, Sharpe, and Invasion: Earth,
and he was in the films Patriot Games
and Trainspotting.

Table of Contents

I.	Of the Different Species of Philosophy	1
II.	Of the Origin of Ideas	8
III.	Of the Association of Ideas	12
IV.	Sceptical Doubts Concerning the Operations of the Understanding	14
V.	Sceptical Solution of These Doubts	24
VI.	Of Probability	35
VII.	Of the Idea of Necessary Connexion	37
VIII.	Of Liberty and Necessity	50
IX.	Of the Reason of Animals	66
X.	Of Miracles	70
XI.	Of a Particular Providence and of a Future State	85
XII.	Of the Academical or Sceptical Philosophy	96

Editorial Reviews

"The 1758 edition of An Enquiry concerning Human Understanding was the first to be grouped together with A Dissertation on the Passions, An Enquiry concerning the Principles of Morals, and The Natural History of Religion. This grouping well reflects Hume's ambition to recast his earlier Treatise on Human Nature, and brings into relief his explicit criticism of religion. In four appendices, Lorne Falkenstein has thoughtfully chosen selections by Hume's contemporaries who challenge Hume on the central topics of the Enquiry: perception and reasoning, causation, and miracles. Falkenstein adds helpful notes providing further historical context. This is an excellent edition for undergraduate and graduate courses, and will be a welcome new resource for scholars."

Jacqueline Taylor University of San Francisco

"David Hume's Enquiry concerning Human Understanding is a philosophical masterpiece that explores the nature of human cognition and the limits of our knowledge. This edition of the Enquiry helpfully puts the text in its historical context by presenting it alongside responses from Hume's most significant 18th-century critics: George Campbell, Thomas Reid, James Beattie, and Immanuel Kant. Lorne Falkenstein's incisive introduction and editorial comments offer readers, whether novice or expert, a sure hand as they navigate both the deceivingly straightforward text and the critics' responses."

Donald C. Ainslie University of Toronto

Hugh Ross reads Hume’s brief but important philosophical tract as the philosopher himself might, thinking his ideas through as he speaks, explaining them in an avuncular fashion, sounding as if he’s anxious to make them understood—while his skeptical inquiry devastatingly undermines cause and effect, free will, miracles, and skepticism. Ross’s use of intonation, emphasis, and expressiveness to mirror and, in a way, explicate the sense of the text is highly skilled. His British-accented voice is pleasant and clear, and his manner accessible, fitting Hume’s essayistic tone and famous clarity of style (though the arguments do demand close attention). Hume’s writing and Ross’s expressive rendering make listening to this text an enjoyable, thought-provoking walk to the edge of an epistemological cliff and over. W.M. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

OCTOBER 2015 - AudioFile