Adam Smith Program
Department of Economics · George Mason University
Menu

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

Reading Group

Start Time
11:00am
Friday, 28 Apr 2023
End Time
12:30pm
Friday, 28 Apr 2023
Organizer
Adam Smith Program

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Note that the titles beginning with "Of Essay-Writing" were either unpublished or redacted in later editions of Hume's works, so they won't be emphasized much in discussion.