A Treatise of Human Nature, first published between 1739 and 1740, is a philosophical text by the Scottish philosopher David Hume. The work contains three books: "Of the Understanding", "Of the Passions" and "Of Morals". Written by Hume when he was 26, it is considered by many to be Hume's best work and one of the most important books in philosophy's history.
'These new Oxford University Press editions have been meticulously collated from various exatant versions. Each text has an excellent introduction including an overview of Hume's thought and an account of his life and times. Even the difficult, and rarely commented-on, chapters on space and time are elucidated. There are also useful notes on the text and glossary. These scholarly new editions are ideally adapted for a whole range of readers, from beginners to experts.' -Jane O'Grady, Catholic Herald, 4/8/00.One of the greatest of all philosophical works, covering knowledge, imaginatio, emotion, morality and justice. Hume is down-to-earth, capable of putting other, pretentious philosophers down, but deeply sceptical even about his own reasoning. Baroness Warnock, The List, The Week 18/11/2000A Treatise of Human Nature (1739-40), David Hume's comprehensive attempt to base philosophy on a new, observationally grounded study of human nature, is one of the most important texts in Western philosophy. It is also the focal point of current attempts to understand 18th-century western philosophy. The Treatise addresses many of the most fundamental philosophical issues: causation, existence, freedom and necessity, and morality. The volume also includes Humes own abstract of the Treatise, a substantial introduction, extensive annotations, a glossary, a comprehensive index, and suggestions for further reading.
Excerpt from A Treatise on Human Nature, Vol. 1 of 2: Being an Attempt to Introduce the Experimental Method of Reasoning Into Moral Subjects; And Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion Such body Locke held to be subject of primary qualities but are these compatible with particularity in time? About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
Frederick F. Schmitt offers a systematic interpretation of David Hume's epistemology, as it is presented in the indispensable A Treatise of Human Nature. Hume's text alternately manifests scepticism, empiricism, and naturalism in epistemology. Interpretations of his epistemology have tended to emphasise one of these apparently conflicting positions over the others. But Schmitt argues that the positions can be reconciled by tracing them to a single underlying epistemology of knowledge and probability quietly at work in the text, an epistemology according to which truth is the chief cognitive merit of a belief, and knowledge and probable belief are species of reliable belief. Hume adopts Locke's dichotomy between knowledge and probability and reassigns causal inference from its traditional place in knowledge to the domain of probability—his most significant departure from earlier accounts of cognition. This shift of causal inference to an associative and imaginative operation raises doubts about the merit of causal inference, suggesting the counterintuitive consequence that causal inference is wholly inferior to knowledge-producing demonstration. To defend his associationist psychology of causal inference from this suggestion, Hume must favourably compare causal inference with demonstration in a manner compatible with associationism. He does this by finding an epistemic status shared by demonstrative knowledge and causally inferred beliefs—the status of justified belief. On the interpretation developed here, he identifies knowledge with infallible belief and justified belief with reliable belief, i.e., belief produced by truth-conducive belief-forming operations. Since infallibility implies reliable belief, knowledge implies justified belief. He then argues that causally inferred beliefs are reliable, so share this status with knowledge. Indeed Hume assumes that causally inferred beliefs enjoy this status in his very argument for associationism. On the reliability interpretation, Hume's accounts of knowledge and justified belief are part of a broader veritistic epistemology making true belief the chief epistemic value and goal of science. The veritistic interpretation advanced here contrasts with interpretations on which the chief epistemic value of belief is its empirical adequacy, stability, or fulfilment of a natural function, as well as with the suggestion that the chief value of belief is its utility for common life. Veritistic interpretations are offered of the natural function of belief, the rules of causal inference, scepticism about body and matter, and the criteria of justification. As Schmitt shows, there is much attention to Hume's sources in Locke and to the complexities of his epistemic vocabulary.
This classic edition includes a new foreword by former APA President Antonio E. Puente which primes the reader for a unique, bold and lively account of the history of psychology that remains relevant and useful to this day. This text surveys core areas in the history of psychology, covering the history of applied, developmental, clinical, cognitive and experimental psychology. O’Boyle writes in the "historical present," which gives readers a sense of immediacy and aliveness as they journey through history. Her account uses imaginative new features, including "The Times," which gives readers a feel for what everyday life was like during the age discussed in the chapter. Descriptions of ordinary life, as well as information about important issues influencing people’s lives such as wars, social movements, famines, and plagues will pique student interest. "Stop and Think" questions, scattered throughout, enhance retention and encourage critical thinking. This book continues to provide a creative, distinct, and valuable contribution to the field, and is an essential read for undergraduate students undertaking courses in the history of psychology and history of science, history and systems of psychology, and introductory psychology.
Adam Smith’s contribution to economics is well-recognised, but in recent years scholars have been exploring anew the multidisciplinary nature of his works. The Adam Smith Review is a refereed annual review that provides a unique forum for interdisciplinary debate on all aspects of Adam Smith’s works, his place in history, and the significance of his writings to the modern world. It is aimed at facilitating debate between scholars working across the humanities and social sciences, thus emulating the reach of the Enlightenment world which Smith helped to shape. The eighth volume of the series contains contributions form a multidisciplinary range of specialists, including Fonna Forman, Ryan Patrick Hanley, Dionysis Drosos, Matti Norri, Adelino Zanini, Cesare Cozzo, Estrella Trincado, Michaël Biziou, Carsten Herrmann-Pillath, Heinrique Schnieder, The Right Honorable Gordon Brown, Gavin Kennedy, Iain McLean, Vernon Smith, Alan Lopez, John Thrasher, Tom Martin, Brian Glenney, Şule Özler, Paul A. Gabrinetti, Craig Smith, Michelle A. Schwarze, Edwin van de Haar, Farhad Rassekh, Lauren Brubaker, Gordon Graham and Eric Schliesser. Themes of the volume include: Translating Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments Smith and China Adam Smith in Kirkcaldy
