Book
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding
Philosophy & Ethics
Writing & NarrativeWhat is An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding in the Agency editorial?
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding is a book by the Scottish philosopher David Hume, first published in 1748. The Agency editorial takes from it the example of what it calls the aphoristic style: three numbered paragraphs from Section III, on the association of ideas.
In short
Hume's Enquiry presents, in short sections and numbered paragraphs, his account of how ideas arise from experience and how the mind connects them. Writing.2 reproduces paragraphs 4, 5 and 6 of Section III, citing page 29 of a Brazilian edition by Editora Lafonte. In them, Hume says that man rarely acts without purpose, that all works of genius need some plan, and that the events of a narrative must be connected by some link or bond.
Key facts
- Which part of the book does the article quote?
- Three numbered paragraphs, 4, 5 and 6, from Section III, The association of ideas. The article credits page 29 of the edition by Editora Lafonte.
- Why does the article quote the book?
- To illustrate the aphoristic style with numbered paragraphs in which, according to the article, most philosophers write. The author introduces the passage as an example taken from a book by Hume.
- What does the quoted passage say about writing?
- That in all works of genius it is necessary for the author to have some plan or purpose, and that a work without a design more closely resembles the extravagances of a madman than the sober efforts of genius and wisdom.
What is An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding?
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding is a work of philosophy by David Hume, first published in 1748 under the title Philosophical Essays Concerning Human Understanding. It restates in a shorter and clearer form the theory of knowledge of his earlier Treatise of Human Nature. Its sections discuss the origin of ideas, the association of ideas, cause and effect, probability and miracles, and it became one of the central texts of empiricism.
How does the Enquiry appear in the Agency editorial?
Writing.2 names the book in its section on aphoristic writing, right after stating that philosophers such as David Hume and Friedrich Nietzsche left a legacy of profound philosophical investigations. The author reproduces three consecutive numbered paragraphs so the reader can see the structure of the page.
After the excerpt, the article comments that the goal of this kind of writing is to pack a linearity of thoughts that connect to each other, so that the reader can navigate through the author's reasoning. It adds that such investigations give rise to profoundly meaningful sentences and theories, and mentions Hume's Guillotine.
Source editions
Where this entry comes from in the Agency editorial.
Also from these editions: concepts
Also from these editions: terms
Related terms
Related concepts
- Aphoristic StyleAphoristic style is a literary mode of writing composed of detached, numbered, or highly condensed statements that convey complex philosophical ideas with striking…
- Association of IdeasThe association of ideas is an epistemological principle stating that human thoughts, mental impressions, and concepts connect systematically through observable…
- David HumeDavid Hume was a Scottish philosopher, historian and economist, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in Western philosophy. In Writing.2, the article…