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  • An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding

  • By: David Hume
  • Narrated by: Gildart Jackson
  • Length: 6 hrs and 6 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (290 ratings)

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An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding

By: David Hume
Narrated by: Gildart Jackson
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Publisher's summary

Published in 1748, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding is Scottish empiricist philosopher David Hume's distillation of his mature philosophy. Addressing themes including the limits of human understanding, the compatibility of free will with determinism, weaknesses in the foundations of religion, and the appeal of skepticism, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding is Hume's attempt to revise and clarify the ideas of his earlier A Treatise of Human Nature. A major work in the empiricist school of thought that included John Locke and George Berkeley, Hume's work influenced such later authors as Adam Smith, Immanuel Kant, and Jeremy Bentham. Controversial and widely debated since its publication, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding is a classic of empiricist philosophy whose questions remain as relevant today as ever.

Public Domain (P)2011 Tantor
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What listeners say about An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding

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Refreshing and.. really funny, surprisingly.

Refreshing and mineral rich, like a tall glass clear water with a zest of amusing lemon. This writer is so lovable and honest, you just want to pat his wig, hug him and give him a kiss on the pudgy a cheek.

The language isn't difficult, you just have to pay close attention for 15 min then take a little break, to muse to yourself.

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17 people found this helpful

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Fascinating Book - Well Read!

Gildart Jackson did an excellent job in the reading of this audiobook. The content of this book was fascinating due to the fact that it was written many years ago, and the subject matter reveals much about the nature of English philosophy of that day. I would like to add that David Hume, in my opinion, had a firm grip on the realities he presents here.

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1 person found this helpful

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Narration a little flat

Increasing the speed to 1.25X somehow seemed to uncover the inflection that was missing to my ear at normal speed.

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5 people found this helpful

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Classic philosophy. Timeless and timely.

More relevant to contemporary psychology than you might think. You must get past the archaic language and work to learn the implicit meaning of the treatise. Well worth the effort.

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"Before Hume", and "After Hume"

in anyone's life that's seeking for truth and how we can more approximate closer to the perception of Truth in our lives will have a before David hume" and an" after David hume" period. his approximations of Truth his resolution of miracles, his demonstration that cause and effect do not inherently contain a necessary connection. this man brought me to a whole other level which I still utilize today in my speech, comport and debate. a true hero and pristine thinker.

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Essential book

I believe this is one of the best books I read about epistemiology.

I strongly recommend but maybe I should consider first read Locke and Berkeley.

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Excellent book!

This book is for smart people, in other words, it is not for people who vote or watch news and think that it is unbiased reporting of observations. Mr Hume was brilliant, and while I am a bit sharper than the average person, I think I will need to listen to this five more times to even scratch the surface!

I heard modern day philosophers Christian Moore and Patrick Smith discussing Hume, and despite my undergraduate degree in social science, I was not familiar with his work.

It is not a quick and easy read, however the old English writing style is absolutely beautiful and the thoughts are brilliant! A definite book that everyone ought to read, and reread, and reread...

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will listen again

Wonderful and eye-opening, will surely read again! Hume has a way of articulating arguments that have far and away exceeded that of my personal arguments as it pertains to philosophy.

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Great addition to any philosophy collection

This thoughtful, scholarly book is perfectly presented, and easy to digest.
I do wish there had been additional commentary, but a nice addition to my library.
Hume is the hero of many of my hero’s and this book is a nice introduction.

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Poorly Reasoned Yet Well-Read

Hume hilariously based his "enquiry" on the supposition that Cause and Effect have no real existence, then goes on to use the very same to attempt to deny the existence of God.

Excellent reading by Gildart Jackson.

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