Customer Reviews

Selected Essays (The World's Classics)

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This comparatively short book consists of extremely well-selected essays by the great Scottish philosopher and historian, on everything from public credit to delicacy of taste. Also included are the different classes of philosphers, including the class Hume falls under, The Sceptic (Hume's sp.). There is also an exceedingly interesting essay on the populousness of the world in ancient times. Apparently, the accepted notion at Hume's time was that there were hordes of people in ancient times and that our race has been dwindling ever since. Hume, on the other hand, proposes the radical notion that just the opposite is the case, and sets out to prove it quite handily.-Overall, the best introduction to one of my favorite writers that I've yet to read.

Written in the highly polished Augustan prose style of the period, this is a fine selection of essays from the pen of the great Scottish philosopher, historian and economist, David Hume. The essays range from aesthetics, commerce, history and ethics, which include such pieces as "The Epicurean", "The Stoic" and "The Sceptic" (Hume's own credo) all which are rather curiously positioned and excellently written guides to living. "Of the Immortality of the Soul" and "Of Suicide", two of Hume's most controversial essays touching on theological topics, are also included in this volume. Both succeeded, with their bold, original arguments, in outraging the British clergy, which helps us to understand why Hume decided to have them published posthumously.

Hume is known today primarily for his seminal philosophical works. He regarded himself, however, as a man of letters who contributed to many areas and he was known best to his contemporaries as a historian. This nice collection of essays displays the breadth of Hume's interests and his well developed writing style. Hume was particularly interested in essays which would bring important topics before a broad public and wrote in an accessible and often entertaining style. Some of Hume's best known essays on philosophical and religous topics are included in this collection. What may be of greatest interest are some of the lesser known essays which display both the versatility and the power of Hume's intellect. Included are essays on economics and international trade, and also some political theory. Hume was an opponent of mercantilist ideas, supporting the largely correct notion that trade would enrich all parties. His political theory is particularly interesting. In contradistinction to the widely accepted ideas of the time, Hume suggested that republican governments could be stable if the size of the republic was large enough to encompass enough competing groups to prevent one from assuming complete control. It is known that James Madison read Hume in the period leading up to the Constitutional Convention and many scholars suspect that Hume's ideas were the germ of the defense of republicanism/federalism developed by Madison in the Federalist Papers. A momentous idea with momentous consequences.

First, I am assuming the essays in the Oxford edition are sufficiently similar to the LibertyClassics edition (the latter a far more elegant paperback and includes "Essays Written and Withdrawn"). Second, these essays (including one on how to write one in the L/C edition) are more in the tradition of Montaigne, Marcus Arelius, and Emerson, to cite some exemplars of the tradition, meaning that these essays are not as logically rigorous as his "Treatise on Human Nature," "Essays Concerning Human Understanding," "Principles of Morals," and "Natural Religion," but are more an astute and empirical observation of what causes pleasure and satisfaction versus what causes discomfort and uneasiness. This emprical motif permeates all the essays.

The "moral" essays are a continuation of Vol. III of his "Treatise on Human Nature," and "Principles of Morals," and contribute to how our "tastes" and "utility," rather than apriori logic, delimit and describe moral ideas and ideals. His "political" essays are the most prominent among the group and are often prescient of subsequent developments, clearly anticipating a more democratic society, but they often come across as antediluvian, despite Hume's analytical dexterity and his compassionate motivation. The "literary" essays are the least in number and the most impotent of his contributions. Not that they lack value or interest, they simply lack novelty or new understanding. All his essays have an empirical bent, which should not surprise anyone familiar with Hume's other works.

Many of these 48 essays have perennial value, while others are clearly cotemporaneous with his time and place (mid-18th century England). In either case, they contribute to our understanding of the period, while making perspicacious observations about subjects that are both endearing and enduring. The LibertyClassics' edition uses current locution and spellings in Caslon 540 typeface on durable, acid-free paper, making Hume's lucid and elegant prose an even more attractive presentation. Highly recommended.

My 18 year old suddenly became the philosopher and wanted to explore new thoughts. This is a good, thought provoking collection that he thoroughly enjoyed.

Thus far, I have only two warnings. First, the ink smudges easily. Second, I find myself preoccupied by the book's size: although its girth is evocative of Hume's corpulence, the pages from top to bottom are too short, and so hardly fitting for the words of such a towering mind.