An Enquiry concerning Human Understanding

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ID: 291452
2008
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Abstract
Commit it then to the flames: for it can contain nothing but sophistry and illusion.' Thus ends David Hume's Enquiry concerning Human Understanding, the definitive statement of the greatest philosopher in the English language. His arguments in support of reasoning from experience, and against the 'sophistry and illusion' of religiously inspired philosophical fantasies, caused controversy in the eighteenth century and are strikingly relevant today, when faith and science continue to clash. The Enquiry considers the origin and processes of human thought, reaching the stark conclusion that we can have no ultimate understanding of the physical world, or indeed our own minds. In either sphere we must depend on instinctive learning from experience, recognizing our animal nature and the limits of reason. Hume's calm and open-minded scepticism thus aims to provide a new basis for science, liberating us from the 'superstition' of false metaphysics and religion. His Enquiry remains one of the best introductions to the study of philosophy, and this edition places it in its historical and philosophical context.
Reference Key
openalex_W4251822993 Use this key to autocite in the manuscript while using SciMatic Manuscript Manager or Thesis Manager
Authors David Hume
Journal Oxford University Press eBooks
Year 2008
DOI
10.1093/owc/9780199549900.001.0001
URL
https://doi.org/10.1093/owc/9780199549900.001.0001
Keywords Keywords not found

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