Hume

Huxley, Thomas Henry, 1825-1895Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.5

Word count: 372K words
Chapters: 38

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Hume by Thomas Henry HuxleyAuthor: Huxley, Thomas Henry, 1825-1895,Language: English, Class: B: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion, Release Date: Jul 13, 2006

Editor's review

This is a critical biography of Hume written by Thomas Henry Huxley, released as a public-domain text by Project Gutenberg. Huxley was himself a biologist and popularizer of science, and in a clear, restrained, and argumentative style he traces Hume's life, works, and philosophical concerns, placing Hume in the context of eighteenth-century British thought and religious controversy. The book is not an exhaustive philosophical textbook but rather a close reading of a philosopher by a scientist: it sets out the intellectual threads and also expresses judgments, so readers can sense the biographer's stance and tone. It is well suited to readers who want to know Hume the man and his thought and who prefer to begin with a short, briskly written introductory critical biography. When reading, it is advisable to consult selections from Hume's own works and to note how Huxley summarizes issues such as causation, belief, and criticism of religion, while distinguishing Hume's claims from the biographer's extensions. The text is old, and some philosophical terms do not correspond exactly to contemporary terminology, so it should be read slowly.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Introductory readers who want a first look at Hume's life and the outline of his thought
Readers interested in how a scientist interprets philosophy
Those who need a moderately length English philosophical critical biography for reading practice
Readers studying the reception history of nineteenth-century thought and the genre of critical biography

Not a good fit for

Specialist researchers seeking a systematic study of Hume's philosophy as a whole
Philosophy students who need contemporary terminology and detailed textual scholarship
Readers with weak English reading skills who would struggle with nineteenth-century academic prose

Reading tips

Read the life section first, then move on to the discussion of works, so as to connect the person with the thought.
After each chapter, use a few sentences to distinguish Hume's own meaning from Huxley's judgments, so as not to conflate them.
Read alongside selections from Hume's own works, focusing on checking the discussions of causation and belief.
When encountering unfamiliar philosophical terms, note them first, look them up together, and then return to the relevant passages.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book Hume's own work or a later critical biography?

This is a critical biography written by Huxley, not Hume's own work. It uses Hume's life and works as a thread, introducing his thought through narrative and commentary and including the biographer's own judgments. When reading, one should distinguish the book's summaries of Hume's views from Hume's original text, and it is best to consult selections from the original works for comparison.

Can readers without a philosophical background read this book?

They can try, but patience is needed. Huxley's style is clear and the book is short, making it suitable as an introductory critical biography; however, it touches on issues such as causation, belief, and criticism of religion, and the terminology and historical background still require looking up. It is advisable to read the life section first to gain an overall impression, then gradually move into the discussion of thought, without insisting on understanding everything at once.

Does Huxley's critical stance affect the reading?

It does. Huxley was a scientist and popularizer of science, and his commentary carries his own intellectual inclinations and argumentative tone; his selection and evaluation of certain Humean issues are not necessarily neutral. Readers should treat the critical biography as one interpretation rather than a definitive conclusion, note how the author selects emphases and makes judgments, and return to Hume's original text to verify.

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About the author

Huxley, Thomas Henry, 1825-1895 Author

Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–1895) was a prominent 19th-century British biologist and popular science writer. The collection holds 52 of his works, including Evidence as to Man's Place in Nature, On the Relations of Man to the Lower Animals, William Harvey and the Discovery of the Circulation of the Blood, Darwiniana: Essays — Volume 02, Lectures and Essays, Time and Life: Mr. Darwin's Origin of Species, The Present Condition of Organic Nature, and Discourses: Biological & Geological. His writing focuses on biology, evolutionary theory, and the history of science, often defending and popularizing Darwin's ideas in a clear, forceful style that combines scholarly rigor with argumentative vigor. Public information is limited, and detailed biographical and honorary particulars fall outside the scope of this entry.