An Analysis of David Hume's Treatise of Human Nature, Part I

A Treatise of Human Nature is not only David Hume's first philosophical work, it is also his most comprehensive execution of his massive contribution to the pursuit of human wisdom. Since its surprisingly tepid response from readers of the original edition, Hume's work has justifiably come to be regarded as one of the most significant works in the history of philosophy. In his Treatise of Human Nature, David Hume delineates his theory of human morality. The form of argument Hume takes is the concept that human morality is not based on coherent thought and logical reason, but is instead the upshot of humanity's passionate fervor. Since this fervor cannot present itself as the creation of logical reason, it would be consequently be the ultimate in the lack of logical thinking to adjudicate any moral deed as being the result of either rational or irrational thought. Hume delivers a succession of explanations that serve to reveal why humanity should express scepticism toward any conclusion based upon reasoning that is arrived at through familiarities based on sensory perception. Hume concludes that even in the face of complexities that are presented by virtue of the illogic inherent in sensory perception, humans still maintain a forcible belief in illogical conclusions due to psychology. This presents the paradoxical notion that strong belief is often grounded in contradictions.