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Philosophical Essays Concerning Human Understanding

David Hume · 1748

Hume's shorter, more accessible rewriting of his early philosophy, later known as the Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding.

Hume's own rewritten and more widely read statement of his philosophy of knowledge.

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Title page of a book reading 'Philosophical Essays Concerning Human Understanding' by the author of 'Essays Moral and Political.' Below is an ornamental floral emblem and the imprint 'London: Printed for A. Millar, opposite Katharine-Street, in the Strand. MDCCXLVIII.'
David Hume, Philosophical Essays Concerning Human Understanding, title page, 1748.

About this source

What it is

This book, written by David Hume and first published in 1748, reworks ideas from his earlier Treatise of Human Nature into a shorter, more polished form intended for a wider readership. It was later retitled An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding.

Why it matters

Hume believed his first book had failed because it was too difficult, so here he restates his theory of knowledge, his famous problem of induction, and his scepticism about miracles in plainer language. The work had enormous influence: philosopher Immanuel Kant said it woke him from his 'dogmatic slumber'. It shows how Hume kept refining his ideas throughout his life to reach more readers.

Look closer

  • Why might Hume have rewritten his earlier ideas rather than simply republishing the Treatise?
  • What is the difference, for Hume, between an 'impression' and an 'idea'?
  • Why do arguments about miracles and causation still matter today?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of David Hume on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Title page of the 1739 first edition of A Treatise of Human Nature, Volume I, Of the Understanding, printed for John Noon in London. Yellowed paper with black serif print, a Latin epigraph from Tacitus, and a handwritten mark in the top right corner.Book

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A Treatise of Human Nature

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Title page of the 1779 London second edition of David Hume's Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion. Text reads: DIALOGUES CONCERNING NATURAL RELIGION, BY DAVID HUME, Esq., THE SECOND EDITION, a short horizontal rule, LONDON: MDCCLXXIX.Book

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Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion

David Hume · 1779

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Of Miracles

David Hume · 1748

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An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals

David Hume · 1751

Oil portrait of a man with white powdered hair, wearing a red coat with ornate gold embroidered trim, white lace cravat and lace cuffs, resting his hand on a stack of leather-bound books against a dark background.Painting

Primary source

David Hume

Allan Ramsay · 1766

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