Adam Smith Reading Group, April 28--Hume's Essays

We read pages 465-598 of Hume's Essays, Moral, Political, and Literary (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1994), corresponding to the following essays (participants are to focus on the titles in boldface):

• “Of the Original Contract”
• “Of Passive Obedience”
• “Of the Coalition of Parties”
• “Of the Protestant Succession”
• “Idea of a Perfect Commonwealth”
• "Of Essay-Writing" [treated in the first session]
• "Of Moral Prejudices"
• “Of the Middle Station of Life”
• "Of Impudence and Modesty"
• "Of Love and Marriage"
• “Of the Study of History”
• “Of Avarice”
• "A Character of Sir Robert Wapole"
• "Of Suicide"
• "Of the Immortality of the Soul"\

Note that the titles beginning with "Of Essay-Writing" were either unpublished or redacted in later editions of Hume's works, so they won't be emphasized much in discussion.