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An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding Paperback – January 24, 2011

by David Hume (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars 120 ratings
Book by Hume, David
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  1. Print length
    162 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Simon & Brown
  4. Publication date
    January 24, 2011
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 0.37 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    193604191X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1936041916
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Brown
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 24, 2011
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 162 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 193604191X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1936041916
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8.9 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.37 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 out of 5 stars 120 ratings

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  1. Antony Flew

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  3. Tom L. Beauchamp

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4.4 out of 5 stars
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Paperback copy came with half the pages not cut
3 out of 5 stars
Paperback copy came with half the pages not cut
Great book of course, but the paperback copy came with half of the pages not cut properly so I had to cut with scissors and it looks sloppy. For a book of this price I would have expected better quality control but oh well.
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Jeffrey Van Wagoner
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Kindle edition
    Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2010
    Verified Purchase
    This is one of the most impressive free kindle editions of a book that I have read. It is taken from a 1902 printing (a 2nd edition) that was reprinted from the posthumous edition of 1777. It includes endnotes and an extensive index put together by L.A Selby-Bigge, a late fellow of University College, Oxford. There is a table of contents at the beginning with hyperlinks. The endnotes also have hyperlinks, which makes it easy to read the notes and jump back to the text. The index also has hyperlinks. This is the first kindle freebie that I have seen with these features. This is handy for this type of book. Note that Hume is Scottish and the book was originally written in English.

    I have always had an interest in philosophy and history and finally got around to reading this foundational work. The title describes exactly what this book is about. Hume starts by giving a brief introduction to philosophy and then jumps into the main questions. The biggie is where do ideas come from? How do we understand things? What is instinct, inspiration? It is interesting that his answers to these questions still hold up well to modern thought.

    Hume wrote this book at a time and place where Calvinism still held great sway and God was thought to be behind every thought and action. His ideas were radical and I was interested to see how he tried to delicately handle ideas that would potentially offend many of his readers.

    I highly recommend this seminal work to any one interested in philosophy and enjoys stretching their minds a bit. This is something I will refer to often. I continue to enjoy the access my Kindle gives me to great classics like this.
    120 people found this helpful
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  • Brian J. Hendricks
    4.0 out of 5 stars Hume at His Most Accessible?
    Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    David Hume is not an easy man to read. But The Oxford Philosophical Texts edition with the help of Tom Beauchamp makes him more approachable and easier to understand.

    One must also keep in mind that this book was written after A Treatise of Human Understanding. Therefore, Hume had the time to rethink his original writing style. What we have here then, is kind of revised and much much more approachable Hume as compared to his previous text.

    What makes Hume, Hume is all here, his discussions on causality, skepticism, miracles, etc. One must keep in mind that Hume was one of the greatest thinkers of Modern Philosophy regardless if one agrees with his thoughts and conclusions. We still must read him.

    This edition has plenty of explanatory notes put forward by Beauchamp in the beginning of the text that act as a tutorial for those working through the text. Hume is notoriously difficult but with the help of Beauchamp he is accessible and always rewarding.

    The text may cost a little more, but the rewards of being able to read Hume and have Beauchamp help you along is well worth the extra dollars. Also, the quailty of the book will stand the test of time.
    6 people found this helpful
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  • Mohamed M. Elsamahi
    5.0 out of 5 stars The arguments are not merely compelling but also beautiful, appealing
    Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2017
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    This book is not the "best" book of philosophy. It is more. Nor is it the "king" of philosophy books. It is more. It is, to say the least, the "god" of the books of philosophy. The issues discussed are only the most serious philosophical issues. The arguments are not merely compelling but also beautiful, appealing. And the spirit is that of the enlightenment at its most robust form. A word for philosophy lovers: please read this book with your utmost concentration and you will love its ideas and enjoy its prose. The author may not convince everyone but challenges anyone that reads his philosophy. So you will be challenged, intrigued, motivated to question some or all of your convictions, or be persuaded to agree with the author. But more importantly, you will adore Hume.
    9 people found this helpful
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  • Mike
    5.0 out of 5 stars This book changed my entire world-view
    Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    I first read this book in an early modern philosophy course as an undergraduate. I was originally just taking a course in philosophy to satisfy some requirements. After we got to Hume, though, I was hooked; I am now studying philosophy as a graduate student. This book is incredible, and every philosopher should have this one on their must-read list if she hasn't read it already.

    Note: the Oxford Philosophical Texts edition edited by Tom Beauchamp is the new standard.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Reads for Fun
    3.0 out of 5 stars Paperback copy came with half the pages not cut
    Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    Great book of course, but the paperback copy came with half of the pages not cut properly so I had to cut with scissors and it looks sloppy. For a book of this price I would have expected better quality control but oh well.
    Customer image
    Reads for Fun
    3.0 out of 5 stars
    Paperback copy came with half the pages not cut

    Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2023
    Great book of course, but the paperback copy came with half of the pages not cut properly so I had to cut with scissors and it looks sloppy. For a book of this price I would have expected better quality control but oh well.
    Images in this review
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  • Douglas D. Patterson
    5.0 out of 5 stars Hume is, of course, a well known philosopher ...
    Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2014
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    Hume is, of course, a well known philosopher who helped to put the superstitions of the Middle Ages behind many of us. He is an empiricist who cautions against the pitfalls of abstraction and generalization and flights of fancy. The book is a important contribution to our understanding of how to control our thought processes.
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  • Michael Kovalko
    4.0 out of 5 stars Great intro to philosophy book
    Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Great intro to philosophy book, Hume has some interesting ideas on understanding, consciousness, and nature. But I wouldn't say any mind-blowing or earth-shattering ideas. Good read
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  • AdviceGiver
    5.0 out of 5 stars This Cause produces the desired Effect
    Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2012
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    I read this work basically focusing upon Hume's famous theory of Cause & Effect. (To be read with 'An Treatise of Human Nature.)
    Despite the traditional philosophical ambiguities that accompany a critical interpretation of his work; it remains a 'must-read' for anyone serious about the grass roots validity of theory and experiment in Science.
    2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Thomas Litman
    5.0 out of 5 stars a must read for any student of philosophy
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 18, 2015
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    a must read for anybody studying hume and empiricism.
    In particular the section on "Of liberty and necessity" is my favorite compatibilist argument.
    The foreword and annotations are excellent
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  • Anjan Banerjee
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Book for Avid Reader.
    Reviewed in India on November 26, 2023
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    Excellent Book on Philosophy.
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  • G. Hutchinson
    4.0 out of 5 stars Great content, poor copying
    Reviewed in Japan on September 24, 2020
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    Hume is one of the greatest of modern philosophers. He's also, arguably, the best writer of English in the philosophical field. I can think of nobody to challenge him except Bertrand Russell for style. But more important, Hume really sets modern empirical philosophy on its feet. This edition of Hume's essays is very reasonably priced. Almost anybody can afford it. The two drawbacks are copying and editing. Clearly, in the process of copying the original text, some words came out illegible. Unfortunately, one of two things seem to have happened at the editing stage: either the mashed-up word or phrase was ignored,, so it's still illegible or incorrectly divided, or the editor (who may not have been a native speaker) guessed wrong. This, however, didn't bother me too much. I'm used to mistakes in foreign college students' papers and I could usually make a quick mental correction when mistake popped up in this book. So 5 stars for content minus one star for poor copying and editing.
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  • foxontherun
    5.0 out of 5 stars THE LINK BETWEEN CAUSE AND EFFECT GETS TRASHED--AND IN SUCH BEAUTIFUL PROSE!
    Reviewed in Canada on September 5, 2014
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    This is the central portion of Hume's larger work An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding , and Concerning the Principles of Morals. I bought this book to remind myself of his thoughts on cause and effect. In almost 350 years no one did it better until Kant's category of causality. This edition is a reprint designed for university students so it is cheaper, but sturdily constructed. If this is your first encounter with Hume, you will become very uncertain about the link between cause and effect. He thoroughly and very convincingly trashes it, and one understands why Kant had to pay so much attention to it when he began the Critiques.But there is more to say here. For many of us Hume's enduring interest is that he provided a target for Kant, although that discounts Hume a bit.Hume's writing is magnificent. He wrote in the golden age of English prose style, and actually knew how to write--although I doubt that any philosopher can rival Plato in that regard. Hume is clear and lucid. If you appreciate the English language you are going to love Hume. This may sound weird, but if you are approaching Hume for the first time, be warned that he wrote at a time when the customs of punctuation--especially commas and semi-colons--were different than they are today and you are liable to get confused Just read the sentence out loud and you will catch on. For me personally, I like Hume because he spells out that philosophical inquiry--such as case and effect--are not just of interest in a theoretical or abstract way, but provide the grounding for our thinking about politics and good government, about how we should live our lives, that for me points the way to Sartre, et al,. Leibniz does the same thing. I think any philosopher who is worth his salt does the same thing; it is just that they usually take Hume's demand for authenticity for granted. It is nice to re-read Hume to be reminded of why philosophy is important to my life.
    You will most likely not need a commentary to handle Hume. If you are already somewhat familiar with formal modern philosophy, I urge you not to demand the same precision of language you might ask of a modern philosopher. He wrote in the 1700's, before modern philosophic bombs hit--indeed he was the catalyst, in some cases, for them (re Kant), If you hope to move into the Critique of Pure Reason and Being
    and Time, you would do well to get through this little book before you try.
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  • M. John
    4.0 out of 5 stars A good introduction to the subject for a novice
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 3, 2012
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    This book looks at the weakness that we have in our abilities to understand our environment- it looks generally at human understanding. It is a very good introduction to the subject for a novice.
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