Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion / The Natural History o... by David Hume

The notes try to dismiss this by stating it was a typo, though I’m not so sure.Īs for the contents of the Dialogues themselves, they can be roughly divided up into two parts. Though in the letter about the Dialogues which is included, Hume explicitly states that he sides with Cleanthes. Given the body of the other writings in this volume, that is an understandable point of view. Which of these represent Hume’s voice? The notes attached, and a few comments I’ve seen when looking into it, say that Philo represents Hume’s true view. Cleanthes is, roughly, the reasonable believer while Philo is the extreme sceptic. In setting up a dialogue as he has done, Hume somewhat disguises what his own view was. Though Demea is not cast as a simpleton, as Galileo did in a similar dialogue which got him in an awful lot of trouble, he is regarded as an earnest believer and is not as nuanced as Cleanthes. There is also Demea who interjects occasionally. The two main characters are Cleanthes (who dominates the early part of the discussion) and Philo (who dominates the latter part). In so doing, the notes to the book state that Hume somewhat disguises what his own view is. Instead of a straightforward exposition, Hume has created several characters who enter into a protracted discussion. I’ve not read a work like it since I did Plato’s Republic quite some years ago.

The thing that struck me most was the format. The bulk of the book is made up of the Dialogues, which I confess came as quite a pleasant surprise as I was not expecting a classic work of atheistic thinking to be quite so good. The inclusion of section XI of An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding was a little odd, as the notes reference other sections which weren’t included in this volume. Though I thought it would be worthwhile having a read of some of Hume’s work. When I asked Simon Clare for a recommendation of such a book, he mentioned Hume in passing, but ultimately recommended Whitney. You can see some examples of other such books I have read, including those by Marcus Borg, Christopher Hitchens and Ben Whitney. It also contains Hume’s My Own Life, section XI of An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding and a letter dated concerning the Dialogues.Īs a freethinking christian, I am advocate of reading views that contradict one’s own. The bulk of the book is made of Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion and The Natural History of Religion. This version was published by Oxford University Press and has an introduction written by John C.A. A word first on the precise book I read, as I am aware that the works of David Hume have been published under various similar titles but with different contents.

Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion / The Natural History o... by David Hume