Why did David Hume write An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding?

David Hume wrote An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding as a shorter, more accessible revision of his earlier, poorly received work, A Treatise of Human Nature. Published initially in 1748 under a different title, the book clarifies his core empiricist ideas, including the role of habit in forming causal inferences and knowledge. It went on to become a classic of modern philosophy, famously awakening Immanuel Kant from his dogmatic slumber.

What we know

• An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding was published in English in 1748, initially titled Philosophical Essays Concerning Human Understanding before adopting its current name in 1757. [1, 2]
• The book was written as a revision and condensation of Hume's earlier work, A Treatise of Human Nature, because Hume was disappointed that the original treatise fell dead-born from the press. [2]
• The Enquiry retains vital propositions from the earlier treatise, such as Hume's argument that habit and custom rather than empirical justification underlie inductive reasoning and belief in causality. [2, 4]
• Immanuel Kant credited the Enquiry as the book that woke him from his self-described dogmatic slumber. [2, 4]

Where to go next

• what caused itWhat was Hume's Treatise of Human Nature?
• what followedHow did Immanuel Kant respond to David Hume?
• how it workedWhat is Hume's fork in epistemology?
• a case in pointWhat arguments appear in An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals?
• the bigger pictureWhat is Scottish Enlightenment philosophy?
• an unexpected connectionHow did a failed book publication lead to a philosophical masterpiece?Hume's deep disappointment with his first comprehensive treatise falling dead-born from the press directly motivated him to rewrite his ideas into the concise polemical style of the Enquiry that changed modern philosophy.

Sources

• [1]Philosophical Essays Concerning Human Understanding (Wikidata Q1306656) · CC0 1.0
• [2]An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]David Hume · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]Hume's fork · CC BY-SA 4.0

Your path

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6. /Why did David Hume write An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding?