Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, An

This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice. One of David Hume's central philosophical works, offering an incisive exploration of human cognition and the limits of knowledge. As a seminal figure of the Scottish Enlightenment, Hume (1711-1776) radically questioned traditional assumptions about reason, causality, and empirical observation, profoundly impacting Western thought. Written during a period dominated by rationalist philosophers like Descartes, Leibniz, and Spinoza, who emphasized innate knowledge and deductive reasoning, Hume's empiricism shifted the philosophical discourse toward experience-based knowledge. In this context, Hume argued that all ideas originate in sensory impressions and perceptions rather than innate rational principles. For Hume, human understanding is fundamentally limited by the scope of sensory experience, making definitive metaphysical claims about God, the soul, or reality beyond perception speculative and uncertain. Hume famously contended that the human mind perceives causation merely as a constant conjunction of events—a habitual association of ideas—not as an objectively verifiable reality. Contextually, Hume's skepticism developed amidst broader Enlightenment ideals emphasizing empirical science, individual reason, and a secular worldview. Yet, paradoxically, his skepticism tempered the Enlightenment's optimism by highlighting the inherent limitations of human reason. Despite controversies, his empiricism helped shape modern scientific skepticism and analytic philosophy, reaffirming that knowledge must remain provisional, rooted in experiential evidence rather than metaphysical certainty. In essence, "An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding" remains influential precisely because it confronts human knowledge's boundaries candidly, inviting continual reflection on our cognitive limitations and the foundations upon which we build understanding.