David Hume
Scottish philosopher and historian; his essays on parties and on a large republic shaped Madison's thinking on faction.
Ask David Hume a question
Answers come only from his own recorded words, with every quotation checked against its source.
Who he was
David Hume was a Scottish philosopher and historian. He wrote A Treatise of Human Nature, the Enquiries, Essays, a History of England and the Dialogues concerning Natural Religion.
His essays "Of Parties in General" and "That Politics may be Reduced to a Science" treat faction and the design of government.
Why he is at the Seat
Hume is on the Lutz-based roster. He is the Seat's voice on parties, faction and whether a well-designed government can contain them.
What we hold
- Editions
- Selby-Bigge editions of the Treatise and the Enquiries
- Essays (a selection, Project Gutenberg); The History of England (Project Gutenberg)
- Dialogues concerning Natural Religion; The Natural History of Religion; letters to William Strahan
- Size
- About 1.8 million words. Word counts are whole files, so they include editors' headnotes and footnotes.
Known limits
- "Idea of a Perfect Commonwealth," his essay on a large republic, is NOT in the corpus: our Essays are a selection. Questions about an extended republic should end with "the record is silent."
- The complete Essays exist only as a facsimile or in a copyrighted edition, and his full Letters (Greig, 1932) are under copyright.
Questions he answers well
The questions his engine was tested on before it opened.
- What causes parties and factions?
Published answers
- What causes the balance of trade to right itself?
- How does public credit affect a nation?
- What is the liberty of the press, and why is it safe in Britain?
- Is the original contract the basis of government?
- What is the origin of government?
- Is politics a science?
- What causes parties and factions, and can a large republic control them?
More in Prior Questions.