David Hume Additional ReadingScottish philosopher

born May 7 [April 26, Old Style], 1711, Edinburgh, Scot. died Aug. 25, 1776, Edinburgh

Additional Reading » Biographies

The standard biography is Ernest C. Mossner, The Life of David Hume, 2nd rev. ed. (1980); while John Hill Burton, Life and Correspondence of David Hume, 2 vol. (1846, reprinted 1983), is not entirely superseded by more recent scholarship. Shorter biographical studies include J.Y.T. Greig, David Hume (1931, reprinted 1983); and F.H. Heinemann, David Hume, the Man and His Science of Man (1940). J.Y.T. Greig (ed.), The Letters of David Hume, 2 vol. (1932, reprinted 1983), is supplemented by Raymond Klibansky and Ernest C. Mossner (eds.), New Letters of David Hume (1954, reprinted 1983).

Additional Reading » Commentaries

An up-to-date introduction to Hume’s philosophical ideas is provided by A.J. Ayer, Hume (1980). Other useful introductory works are D.G.C. MacNabb, David Hume: His Theory of Knowledge and Morality, 2nd ed. (1966); Barry Stroud, Hume (1977); and V.C. Chappell (ed.), The Philosophy of David Hume (1963), which contains excerpts from Hume’s works. More specialized commentaries on Hume’s epistemological theory include H.H. Price, Hume’s Theory of the External World (1940, reprinted 1981); Constance Maund, Hume’s Theory of Knowledge (1937, reprinted 1973); and Norman Kemp Smith, The Philosophy of David Hume (1941, reprinted 1983). Commentaries that concentrate on Hume’s ethical thought are R. David Broiles, The Moral Philosophy of David Hume, 2nd ed. (1969); J.L. Mackie, Hume’s Moral Theory (1980); Antony Flew, Hume’s Philosophy of Belief (1961); Rachel M. Kydd, Reason and Conduct in Hume’s Treatise (1946, reissued 1964); and Jonathan Harrison, Hume’s Moral Epistemology (1976), and Hume’s Theory of Justice (1981, reprinted 1983). Alasdair MacIntyre (ed.), Hume’s Ethical Writings (1965, reprinted 1979), contains excerpts that are well chosen from various works.

Hume’s political theory is examined in Duncan Forbes, Hume’s Philosophical Politics (1975, reprinted 1985); David Miller, Philosophy and Ideology in Hume’s Political Thought (1981, reprinted 1984); G.K. Vlachos, Essai sur la politique de Hume (1955); and Shirley Robin Letwin, The Pursuit of Certainty: David Hume, Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, Beatrice Webb (1965). Excerpts from Hume’s writings on politics, together with a commentary, appear in Frederick Watkins (ed.), Theory of Politics (1951).

richard Wollheim (ed.), Hume on Religion (1963, reissued 1964), contains Hume’s most important writings on the subject. More extensive commentaries are provided by J.C.A. Gaskin, Hume’s Philosophy of Religion (1978); and André-Louis Leroy, La Critique et la religion chez David Hume (1930).

eugene Rotwein (ed.), Writings on Economics (1955, reissued 1972), a collection of Hume’s essays, is a valuable introduction to a somewhat neglected aspect of Hume’s social theory. Commentaries that attempt a more synoptic and comprehensive appraisal of Hume’s thought include John Passmore, Hume’s Intentions, 3rd ed. (1980); Charles W. Hendel, Studies in the Philosophy of David Hume (1925, reissued 1983); André-Louis Leroy, David Hume (1953, reprinted 1979); John Laird, Hume’s Philosophy of Human Nature (1932, reprinted 1983); A.P. Cavendish (pseudonym A.H. Basson), David Hume (1958, reprinted 1981); Farhang Zabeeh, Hume, Precursor of Modern Empiricism, 2nd rev. ed. (1973); and James Noxon, Hume’s Philosophical Development (1973, reprinted 1975).

Additional Reading » Bibliographies

T.E. Jessop, A Bibliography of David Hume and of Scottish Philosophy from Frances Hutchinson to Lord Balfour (1938, reprinted 1983); and Roland Hall, Fifty Years of Hume Scholarship (1978), and A Hume Bibliography, from 1930 (1971). William B. Todd (ed.), Hume and the Enlightenment (1974), contains a bibliographical essay. Hume Studies (semiannual) updates bibliographical information.