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A Treatise of Human Nature (Oxford Philosophical Texts) [Paperback]

David Hume , David Fate Norton , Mary J. Norton
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)

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Book Description

February 24, 2000 0198751729 978-0198751724
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 reading, and an index are also included. The series aims to build a definitive corpus of key texts in the Western philosophical tradition, forming a reliable and enduring resource for students and teachers alike.
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 philosophy The Treatise first explains how we form such concepts as cause and effect, external existence, and personal identity, and how we create compelling but unverifiable beliefs in the entities represented by these concepts. It then offers a novel account of the passions, explains freedom and necessity as they apply to human choices and actions, and concludes with a detailed explanation of how we distinguish between virtue and vice. The volume features Hume's own abstract of the Treatise, a substantial introduction that explains the aims of the Treatise as a whole and of each of its ten parts, a comprehensive index, and suggestions for further reading.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

`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 18/11/2000

About the Author


David Norton is Macdonald Professor of Moral Philosophy and Co-director of the Hume Society/National Endowment for the Humanities Institute on the Philosophy of David Hume.

Mary J. Norton is an independent scholar

Product Details

  • Paperback: 626 pages
  • Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (February 24, 2000)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0198751729
  • ISBN-13: 978-0198751724
  • Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1.5 x 9.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #341,786 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Hume's Treatise is widely recognized as an important early modern work. Reader From Aurora  |  6 reviewers made a similar statement
First and foremost, the Index: among the best ever! cvairag  |  2 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
108 of 112 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Be Aware December 8, 2001
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Be aware that the reviews for a book are displayed not only for one edition, but for all editions under the same title. The Oxford Philosophical Texts edition of Hume's "Treatise" should be the standard student edition. The Prometheus Books edition is cheap, but it does not include a modern introduction or any study notes. I recommend the Oxford Philosophical Texts version if you want or need more than just the raw text.
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49 of 51 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Oxford's edition by the Nortons is the only one to buy November 23, 2004
Format:Paperback
Since Hume's Treatise first appeared in 1739-1740, several distinct editions have been published. While most of these are fine for casual use, the Oxford University Press edition, recently prepared by David and Mary Norton, stands alone as an outstanding scholarly achievement. Their edition, at present only available in the Oxford Philosophical Texts student edition, will within the next year or so also be available in a scholarly edition (Oxford's Clarendon Edition). These two versions have the same text of the Treatise. The difference between them lies in their introductions and annotations, which are suited to different sets of readers. Part of the value of both versions lies in these exceptional introductions and annotations. The other part, though, involves the Nortons' editing of the text of the Treatise itself, which, ironically, makes their edition more accurate than Hume's original. While the original edition of the Treatise was being printed, Hume instructed the printer to make changes to the text, and thus some first editions read differently than others. The Nortons have compared first-edition copies of the Treatise page by page to locate these changes. Pen in hand, Hume also scribbled other changes into several printed copies of the Treatise; the Nortons have accounted for those alterations as well. These are just two examples of many editorial tasks that have gone into making this the definitive edition of Hume's Treatise, the edition which will remain the standard for decades. Let me add a word regarding the critical comments that an anonymous amazon.com reviewer made about the Nortons' edition ("A reader", January 18, 2003). This reviewer's comments may be well-meaning, but I can say with confidence there is little substance to her/his objections. The edition has been widely hailed as a triumph by Hume scholars and scholarly reviewers, and the philosophy editors at Oxford University Press tell me they are completely delighted with the work.
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98 of 110 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Before he chose to diddle away his later years writing book after book of history, playing house with Rousseau, annoying the religious authorities, and forging a lasting reputation as an all-around good guy, Hume dedicated his youth to writing the this book, which is nothing less than the single greatest work of philosophy in the English language. Indeed, I don't think there are even any other close competitors for that title. Naturally, then, this work was largely ignored during Hume's lifetime.

Notwithstanding the widely told, and somewhat accurate, standard story of the history of modern philosophy according to which Kant's rearguard action in response to Hume is the culmination of the modern period, I think that this book rather than Kant's First Critique is where it's at. Certainly, no book of modern philosophy compares to this complex, intricately argued, inspiring, maddening, imaginative, iconoclastic, encyclopedic tome when it comes to influence on contemporary philosophers in the Anglo-American analytic tradition. And while it's true that Kant's system is almost unparalleled in the breadth of its influence, defenders of the traditional story of modern philosophy need to remember that 'almost'. For it seems to me that, among the moderns, Hume got there first. He, and not Kant, is the first modernist whose importance is manifest in all the main areas of philosophy: epistemology (skepticism and the problem of induction), metaphysics (causation, personal identity, etc.), philosophy of mind (action theory, rationality) meta-ethics (meta-ethical subjectivism, proto-noncognitivism, reason vs. emotions, moral psychology, etc.), normative ethics (importance of benevolence, justice as an artificial virtue, etc.).

Want some evidence of Hume's pervasive influence? It's not just that everyone working in this tradition has read Hume, though they have. Nor is it just that Hume's stamp is all over the concerns and positions of contemporary philosophers, though it is. Nor is it just that Hume's influence is celebrated (or bemoaned) by pretty much every philosopher you come across, though that's true as well. No, the true measure of his intellectual ascendancy is that there's a position dubbed "Humean" in pretty much every area of philosophy, and, depending on one's view of the topic, it's either the obviously correct view--it was Hume's position, after all!--or a pernicious heresy for which no good arguments have been provided and for which there isn't good reason to think it was even Hume's actual position. You know you've made it when both the defenders of the status quo and those who can't abide that status quo claim you as their own.

Why is Hume so important? I think there are two reasons, each corresponding to one of the influential interpretations of Hume's work as a whole. The first interpretation of Hume's corpus sees it as shot through with a radical skepticism about anything and everything, and corresponding to this interpretation is a conception of Hume's importance as consisting in his occupying the place of the philosopher opponent of common sense par excellence. Hume, according to this interpretation, takes the empiricism of Locke, which in his hands looks like nothing so much as self-conscious common sense, and wields it as a weapon against more or less everything we tend to believe. That is, we should see Hume as taking up the empiricism of Locke and Berkeley and pushes it to its logical conclusion: a thoroughgoing skepticism. Think you can know there is a mind-independent world of physical objects? Think you're a single person who persists through time? Think things stand in causal relationships to one another? Think you can know whether the sun will explode tomorrow? You should think again, Hume says, and he's happy to show you why empiricism leads to this conclusion. So, if this is right, the importance of Hume's project consists in its status as a for rationalists, for non-skeptics of all stripes, and for all ordinary, right-thinking folks.

Now, undoubtedly, there's some truth in the stereotypical view of Hume as the young radical who took empiricism to its implausible limits. But this isn't where his true importance lies--at least not among contemporary philosophers. What has been most influential among contemporary exponents of the Anglo-American analytic tradition is Hume's unrepentant and radical naturalism. This interpretation of his project downplays Hume's skepticism and emphasizes his professed intentions to provide a positive account of the operation of the human mind that appealed to nothing beyond the evidence of our senses. According to proponents of this interpretation, Hume is most interested in a description of the operation of the human mind. He's describing what human nature allows us to know and what it doesn't allow us to know. Here Hume's importance consists not in his providing a challenge to the views of philosophers and of the hoi polloi, but in his providing us with a model of how philosophy should be done.

I feel that I've strayed somewhat from the topic of the book here, but I suppose that was inevitable. It would, of course, have been pointless to attempt to summarize Hume's arguments, or even his conclusions, in a review of this length. The only summary of this book's content that the reader needs is this: Hume discusses nearly everything of importance in philosophy, and his discussions of nearly every issue reveal an unsurpassed (and rarely equaled) level of philosophical brilliance.

To whom do I recommend this book? The answer, in short, is everyone. If you're even slightly interested in philosophy, you simply can't get by without reading this. If you're at all interested in the history of ideas, you need to read this. If you're the slightest bit curious about our modern worldview and its origin, it would be a good idea for you to read this. If you're interested enough in Hume to have come across this review and read it to this point, you'll want to read this.

Concerning editions of this book. I wish Amazon would separate the various editions of this book so I could review them separately, but they haven't. I'd recommend either the edition jointly edited by the Nortons and published in the Oxford Philosophical Texts series or the Selby-Bigge edition, which was for some time the standard edition of the Treatise.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars An early but very important work
Hume issued a challenge to 18th Century philosophers that is still relevant, and influential, even with the contemporary advances in philosophical thinking.
Published 1 month ago by Michael Cunningham
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book
Great book, wonderful classic, formatted well for the Kindle. No misspellings or punctuation errors, and highly enjoyable read. The read aloud function works great!
Published 2 months ago by ElectricHarpsichord
5.0 out of 5 stars This item is what it was represented to be, and I am most appreciative...
This item is what it was represented to be, and I am most appreciative of the fact that I received what I paid for.
Published 4 months ago by Dennis Finney
1.0 out of 5 stars Worthless
If you're in the market for a paperback doorstop, don't hesitate to drop eight bucks on this dandy model. Read more
Published 6 months ago by James Morganelli
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Review
I love this book, mostly because I am a seeker of wisdom. While I dont agree with all of what has been said in the book, I recommend this book to all who are seekers of wisdom
Published 7 months ago by Rev. Nick Vela
5.0 out of 5 stars OPT Is an Incredible Collection!
The Nortons do a wonderful job in preserving Hume's original writing style, including his word usage and punctuation in the Oxford Philosophical Texts edition of the... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Mike
5.0 out of 5 stars Causation ... what do we mean?
I read this work basically focusing upon Hume's famous theory of Cause & Effect. (To be read with 'An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding')
Despite the traditional... Read more
Published 11 months ago by AdviceGiver
5.0 out of 5 stars Sense Impressions Are All There Are
If Locke represents the rationally logical voice of the rationally logical 18th century, then Hume in his assertion that nothing can be stated of mind but impressions, sensations,... Read more
Published on May 9, 2011 by Martin Asiner
5.0 out of 5 stars It's Only Philosophy!
These reviews (with two notable exceptions) are as likely to turn the interested reader away from this eminently readable, enjoyable, prescient, sui-generis philosophical bomb... Read more
Published on February 17, 2009 by Daniel Myers
5.0 out of 5 stars Norton Edition Outstanding
The following comments pertain to the Oxford Philosophical Texts edition of David Hume's A Treatise of Human Nature edited by David and Mary Norton. Read more
Published on October 25, 2008 by Reader From Aurora
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