David Hume on God

About the Book: 

A central problem for the non-specialist reader over the works of Hume today is that his mellifluous 18th century prose appears strange to our eyes and ears... What follows, therefore, is what the present editors did about it. The central purpose is to open to Hume’s original target audience his writings on religious affairs; a subject which was of central importance to him – and which remains of perennial interest to humankind. 

Apportion Belief to the Evidence! DAVID HUME 

David Hume’s writings on history, politics and philosophy have shaped thought to this day. His bold scepticism ranged from common notions of the ‘self’ to criticism of standard theistic proofs. He insisted on grounding understandings of popular religious beliefs in human psychology rather than divine revelation, and he aimed to disentangle philosophy from religion in order to allow the former to pursue its own ends. 

In this book, Professors David W Purdie and Peter S Fosl decipher some of Hume’s most challenging texts for the modern reader, while preserving the sharp intellect and undaunted nerve for which Hume is famous. Hume’s spirit is brought alive for contemporary times and his writing is made accessible for its intended audience: the general public. 

The greatest philosopher ever to write in the English language. BERTRAND RUSSELL 

About the Authors:

DAVID W PURDIE was born privately in Prestwick and educated publicly at Ayr Academy and Glasgow University. He is a Professor Emeritus of Hull University and is presently an Hon. Fellow of the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities of the University of Edinburgh, where his field is the history and philosophy of the 18th century. David is Editor-in-Chief of The Burns Encyclopaedia, which covers the life and work of the poet Robert Burns, and editor of Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe and The Heart of Midlothian, both adapted for the modern reader. He is a former Chairman of the Sir Walter Scott Club. In non-academic mode, he is the co-author of The Ancyent & Healthfulle Exercyse, a history of golf, and of The Dean’s Diaries, an exposé of the goings-on at the (fictional) St Andrew’s College in Edinburgh.

PETER FOSL Professor of Philosophy at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky, where he chairs the PPE program. Fosl is co-editor of the Dictionary of Literary Biography volumes on the history of British Philosophy, co-author with Julian Baggini of The Philosopher’s Toolkit and Ethics Toolkit, and he is author of Hume’s Scepticism: Pyrrhonian and Academic (forthcoming with Edinburgh University Press). Fosl has published numerous articles on the history of philosophy and on popular culture. He was a Fulbright student in Edinburgh and the David Hume Fellow of the University of Edinburgh’s Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (IASH) during the 2013–4 academic year.