One of the most significant works of Western philosophy, Hume's Treatise was pub
lished in 1739-40, before he was thirty years old. A pinnacle of English empiric
ism, it is a comprehensive attempt to apply scientific methods of observation to
a study of human nature, and a vigorous attack upon the principles of tradition
al metaphysical thought. With masterly eloquence, Hume denies the immortality of
the soul and the reality of space; considers the manner in which we form concep
ts of identity, cause and effect; and speculates upon the nature of freedom, vir
tue and emotion.
Opposed both to metaphysics and to rationalism, Hume's philo
sophy of informed scepticism sees man not as a religious creation, nor as a mach
ine, but as a creature dominated by sentiment, passion and appetite.
