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A Treatise of Human Na...
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A Treatise of Human Nature
by
David Hume
The Oxford Philosophical Texts series consists of truly practical and accessible guides to major philosophical texts in the history of philosophy from the ancient world up to modern times. Each book opens with a comprehensive introduction by a leading specialist which covers the philosopher's life, work, and influence. Endnotes, a full bibliography, guides to further readi...more
Unknown Binding, 678 pages
Published
January 28th 1969
by Penguin
(first published 1740)
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Jun 15, 2007
Darren
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Everyone, Philosophy Buffs
Shelves:
alreadyread
"I was awoken from my dogmatic slumber." -Kant, on reading Hume.
In my opinion, this is probably one of the most thoroughly logical and most disturbing books ever written. Hume's use of reason completely dissects that habituation that we call "intuition", and moreover, shows how inductive reasoning is completely without merit. Science goes out the window, and the prospect of having any knowledge of the world leaves with it. The resulting nihilism will send chills down your spine. This is why ever...more
In my opinion, this is probably one of the most thoroughly logical and most disturbing books ever written. Hume's use of reason completely dissects that habituation that we call "intuition", and moreover, shows how inductive reasoning is completely without merit. Science goes out the window, and the prospect of having any knowledge of the world leaves with it. The resulting nihilism will send chills down your spine. This is why ever...more
May 06, 2009
Jimmy
marked it as to-read
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
western-philosophy,
partially-read
Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.
Thanks a lot, man! You and your fancy book just had to go and wake Immanuel Kant from his "dogmatic slumber", didn't you? And every single fucking time I pick up a philosophical tome like Critique of Pure Reason I have to be reminded of how lazy I am for not thoroughly reading through all of the British empiricists. Don't get me wrong, from what I've read of yours, you seem like a very precise philosopher, but now I have to read you with scorn. Look at what yo...more
Thanks a lot, man! You and your fancy book just had to go and wake Immanuel Kant from his "dogmatic slumber", didn't you? And every single fucking time I pick up a philosophical tome like Critique of Pure Reason I have to be reminded of how lazy I am for not thoroughly reading through all of the British empiricists. Don't get me wrong, from what I've read of yours, you seem like a very precise philosopher, but now I have to read you with scorn. Look at what yo...more
Hume on Human Nature
I read the 19th Century edition compiled by T.H. Greene and T.H. Grose -in two volumes, London, Longmans, Green, And Co -1874.
"Of these impressions or ideas of the memory we form a kind of system, comprehending whatever we remember to have been present either to our internal perception or sense, and every particular of that system, joined to the present impressions, we are pleased to call a reality. But the mind stops not there."
If this is the sort of bold philosophical disc...more
I read the 19th Century edition compiled by T.H. Greene and T.H. Grose -in two volumes, London, Longmans, Green, And Co -1874.
"Of these impressions or ideas of the memory we form a kind of system, comprehending whatever we remember to have been present either to our internal perception or sense, and every particular of that system, joined to the present impressions, we are pleased to call a reality. But the mind stops not there."
If this is the sort of bold philosophical disc...more
Dec 03, 2012
Andrew Hunt
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Clear thinkers
Recommended to Andrew by:
Immanuel Kant
Shelves:
philosophy
Trenchant and profound. I wouldn't recommend the Barnes & Noble edition, which I picked up without knowing that it contained a few potentially misleading features (inexplicably, the preface to the Abstract which Hume later published is included and the Abstract itself left out).
It's good to read philosophy which, if it is sometimes obscure (though Hume very rarely is truly difficult), is so because the thoughts which it expresses are worth thinking. Certain philosophical writers of the late...more
It's good to read philosophy which, if it is sometimes obscure (though Hume very rarely is truly difficult), is so because the thoughts which it expresses are worth thinking. Certain philosophical writers of the late...more
After having only read snippets of David Hume throughout my exploration of philosophy I felt compelled to read this work in its entirety, and it was impeccably brilliant far beyond my assumptions. To have written this book in his early twenties is almost incomprehensible, because hundreds of years later these words and ideas still are easily applicable to deep thought and conscious perception of the world we live in. I value Descartes for his acknowledgement of the pineal gland and its importanc...more
Hume continues the tradition of Locke and Berkeley, by demonstrating that causal connections are only in the mind of the perceiver, not actually in the world of perceived events.
Hume writes engagingly, warmly and with cutting, impeccable logic. In this three part book the famous sceptic explores human nature superbly. For those who tackle this book it is important to have a good grounding in classical English writings, otherwise the phraseology may lose you.
My favourite part was part 3, the origins of morals. As a person deeply interested in moral control within society it is of great interest to see Hume expand upon empirical observations of morality. In many ways thi...more
My favourite part was part 3, the origins of morals. As a person deeply interested in moral control within society it is of great interest to see Hume expand upon empirical observations of morality. In many ways thi...more
If you have ever taken a Philosophy course, it's incredibly likely that you'll have had to read this at some point and with good reason. A Treatise of Human Nature is an extraordinary account of how the mind and therefore humans work and covers absolutely everything you could wish to contemplate on. It is a mighty beast of a book though which requires a great deal of effort from the reader to get through. I will admit that there were parts where I skimmed and flicked through, but from the majori...more
Il y a une remarquable unité dans ces trois ouvrages de Hume, sur la nature humaine, le premier sur la connaissance, le second sur les passions, et le troisième sur la morale. On ne saurait pas aborder ces difficiles questions de morale sans bien s'entendre préalablement sur le sens des mots, sans quoi on courrait le risque de se laisser abuser par eux, et de se payer de belles formules qui nous plaisent, car notre imagination complète le sens qu'il n'y trouve pas par celui qui nous agrée. Cette...more
J'ai été assez surpris par le premier tome du traité de la nature humaine de Hume, philosophe anglais du XVIIIème siècle. Le ton annoncé dès le début : prendre le contre pied de cette manière lente et embarrassée de faire la philosophie - c'est à dire la manière de John Locke, l'homme du siècle dernier, celui qui avait fait d'Arouet le poète, Voltaire le philosophe - pour y substituer un pas plus rapide et assuré. Effectivement, l'argumentaire varié et coloré employé par Hume est plus proche de...more
Apr 25, 2011
Jordan Forster
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
philosophy,
non-fiction
There are many philosophers who remain of interest to students long after they have ceased to contemplate all things philosophical. For most the interest stems from the importance of the philosopher as part of the study of the history of philosophy. Few, however, retain an enduring relevance for their response to the philosophical problems they squared up to. David Hume is one of these few. Written in 1739, when Hume was aged a mere 28, the Treatise remains today one of the most important texts...more
I am a huge fan of Hume, although I would recommend reading the 'Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding' over the Treatise for a first read. The Enquiry is a far more streamlined and accessible reformatting of many of the key notions in this text. You can also find copies of all of his work online, notably a modern English translation of his and other early modern works at http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/f_hum...
Nothing to say about this except that it's astonishingly provocative. The first book - On the Understanding - is the most famous and the most lasting. In Hume's later sections on morals he shows the prejudices and limitations of his age in a way he never does when dealing with raw material of understanding, impressions and ideas.
For Mr. Hume, everything begins with perception. Through memory perception drives what we feel and what we can know. These in turn provide the elements for human nature, morality, society, and individual behavior. In short, epistemology is driven by impression. Reason cannot give rise to an idea.
I read SECTION VI: OF PERSONAL IDENTITY of this book.
One of my favorite quotes from this has to be, "What is natural and essential to anything is, in a manner, expected; and what is expected makes less impression." This quote, of course, is referring to what, of many things, have an effect on our identity.
One of my favorite quotes from this has to be, "What is natural and essential to anything is, in a manner, expected; and what is expected makes less impression." This quote, of course, is referring to what, of many things, have an effect on our identity.
If you're ever in need of an entire treatise on human nature, this is the first one you should be reaching for. Hume treats both his subject matter and his reader with the delicate touch required when delivering a still born. And he's pretty funny. Not like Kant (nothing funny about that guy).
Jan 26, 2008
Ethan
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
thinking human beings, philosophers, people interested in intellectual history
Hume has always been one of my favorite philosophers. There are few areas of philosophy in which I can't say that I am something of a Humean. I find myself coming back to Hume for inspiration in his unique brand of skepticism in epistemology and metaphysics and his type of sentiment theory in ethics. The Treatise is not his best-written work (that would probably be the Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion or the Enquiries), but it is his most comprehensive. If more philosophers throughout histo...more
This one took me a good bit of time to traipse through. Not only was it long on the outset, but I downloaded it on my e reader and the e reader version included a whole host of footnotes and notes by the gentleman who reviewed it that quite took up a lot of time. I am unsure if the notes were well presented in this format as it soon became very difficult to discern what was the bulk of the work and what was in fact just a note on the work. Overall though Hume Treatise of Human Nature is mind blo...more
So of course this is a classic, so a person has to give it a fair amount of respect. Yet, for all of his insights, Hume was dead wrong about quite a bit of things. And, to be honest, I think this took me so long to read because I can only take the writing style of 250-year-old philosophical texts for so long before I drift to sleep. It's important to understand this book's place in the history of philosophy, yes, but as far as how much I enjoyed reading it.. meh.
Hume is the best. Got a theory? He'll destroy it for you. Got a notion? He'll turn it on its head. For: obsessives seeking a way to catalog human thought, anyone seriously interested in philosophy.
I loaned this book to a midshipman in college and never got it back. Hate when that happens.... it was a big expensive book too... and I didn't like it enough to want to buy a new one ;)
An interresting treatis of Human nature. This text is studied to understand the 1800s ideas of phylosophy.
A Treatise of Human Nature (Oxford Philosophical Texts) by David Hume (2000)
Interesting viewpoints of the self and the ideas of what drives a human being.
We divide the world into those who prefer Mahler or Wagner , and Hume or Kant.
Probably the early modern philosopher that holds up the best.
Extraordinarily insightful psychologist as well as breezy but oh so clever logical analyst. Well, Hume might not prefer to be called a 'logical analyst' but what else do you want to call his arguments against metaphysical sacred cows of the self, world, and of logic itself? I don't know! This is a world-wrecking and possibly very cynical work but also the greatest example of sustained philosophical argument I've ever read. I love reading Hume, hate having to argue against Humean positions, but n...more
Hume's treatise is very dense and full of goodies...
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David Hume was a Scottish philosopher, economist, and historian. He is an important figure in Western philosophy, and in the history of the Scottish Enlightenment.
Hume first gained recognition and respect as a historian, but academic interest in Hume's work has in recent years centered on his philosophical writing. His History of England was the standard work on English history for many years, unt...more
More about David Hume...
Hume first gained recognition and respect as a historian, but academic interest in Hume's work has in recent years centered on his philosophical writing. His History of England was the standard work on English history for many years, unt...more
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“Generally speaking, the errors in religion are dangerous; those in philosophy only ridiculous.”
—
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“Reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions, and can never pretend to any other office than to serve and obey them.”
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Dec 19, 2012 06:51am
No I didn't!
May 02, 2013 06:24am