An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding

by David Hume Narrated by Digital Voice José Peña Coto E

Overview

This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice.

One of David Hume's central philosophical works, offering an incisive exploration of human cognition and the limits of knowledge.

As a seminal figure of the Scottish Enlightenment, Hume (1711-1776) radically questioned traditional assumptions about reason, causality, and empirical observation, profoundly impacting Western thought.

Written during a period dominated by rationalist philosophers like Descartes, Leibniz, and Spinoza, who emphasized innate knowledge and deductive reasoning, Hume's empiricism shifted the philosophical discourse toward experience-based knowledge. In this context, Hume argued that all ideas originate in sensory impressions and perceptions rather than innate rational principles. For Hume, human understanding is fundamentally limited by the scope of sensory experience, making definitive metaphysical claims about God, the soul, or reality beyond perception speculative and uncertain.

Hume famously contended that the human mind perceives causation merely as a constant conjunction of events-a habitual association of ideas-not as an objectively verifiable reality.

Contextually, Hume's skepticism developed amidst broader Enlightenment ideals emphasizing empirical science, individual reason, and a secular worldview. Yet, paradoxically, his skepticism tempered the Enlightenment's optimism by highlighting the inherent limitations of human reason. Despite controversies, his empiricism helped shape modern scientific skepticism and analytic philosophy, reaffirming that knowledge must remain provisional, rooted in experiential evidence rather than metaphysical certainty.

In essence, "An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding" remains influential precisely because it confronts human knowledge's boundaries candidly, inviting continual reflection on our cognitive limitations and the foundations upon which we build understanding.

Editorial Reviews

Jacqueline Taylor University of San Francisco

"The 1758 edition of An Enquiry concerning Human Understanding was the first to be grouped together with A Dissertation on the Passions, An Enquiry concerning the Principles of Morals, and The Natural History of Religion. This grouping well reflects Hume's ambition to recast his earlier Treatise on Human Nature, and brings into relief his explicit criticism of religion. In four appendices, Lorne Falkenstein has thoughtfully chosen selections by Hume's contemporaries who challenge Hume on the central topics of the Enquiry: perception and reasoning, causation, and miracles. Falkenstein adds helpful notes providing further historical context. This is an excellent edition for undergraduate and graduate courses, and will be a welcome new resource for scholars."

Donald C. Ainslie University of Toronto

"David Hume's Enquiry concerning Human Understanding is a philosophical masterpiece that explores the nature of human cognition and the limits of our knowledge. This edition of the Enquiry helpfully puts the text in its historical context by presenting it alongside responses from Hume's most significant 18th-century critics: George Campbell, Thomas Reid, James Beattie, and Immanuel Kant. Lorne Falkenstein's incisive introduction and editorial comments offer readers, whether novice or expert, a sure hand as they navigate both the deceivingly straightforward text and the critics' responses."

OCTOBER 2015 - AudioFile

Hugh Ross reads Hume’s brief but important philosophical tract as the philosopher himself might, thinking his ideas through as he speaks, explaining them in an avuncular fashion, sounding as if he’s anxious to make them understood—while his skeptical inquiry devastatingly undermines cause and effect, free will, miracles, and skepticism. Ross’s use of intonation, emphasis, and expressiveness to mirror and, in a way, explicate the sense of the text is highly skilled. His British-accented voice is pleasant and clear, and his manner accessible, fitting Hume’s essayistic tone and famous clarity of style (though the arguments do demand close attention). Hume’s writing and Ross’s expressive rendering make listening to this text an enjoyable, thought-provoking walk to the edge of an epistemological cliff and over. W.M. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940193157328
Publisher:	José Peña Coto
Publication date:	04/17/2025
Edition description:	Unabridged

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