How to read Enquiries Concerning Human Understanding and Morals by David Hume

What Enquiries Concerning Human Understanding and Morals is about

Two clear inquiries into evidence, habit, ethics and the limits of certainty. David Hume wrote it in 1748 and 1751. It sits in the philosophy shelf of the library.

The edition you read

The original text is the David Hume, 1748 and 1751, a public domain edition. The text is complete and keeps its own chapter structure, so every reading points back to the same place in the book.

Where to start

The book opens with these readings, in order. The first one is free in the app.

1. Two ways of doing moral philosophy
2. True metaphysics against false obscurity
3. SECTION II.: Of The Origin Of Ideas
4. SECTION III.: Of The Association Of Ideas

How the readings are split

The 51 readings follow the book's own divisions, grouped into 9 parts. Each reading is a sitting of a few minutes, and the reader remembers the paragraph where you stopped.

Reading it in plain English

Every reading has a plain English draft written paragraph by paragraph, and a short guide with context, an explanation, takeaways and a question to think about. The drafts are labeled Unreviewed plain English draft. Drafts, guides and the readings after the first one need Athenaeum Membership.