SOURCE: “The Treatise of Human Nature and Hume's Philosophy as a Whole,” in A Humean Critique of David Hume's Theory of Knowledge, edited by John A. Gueguen, University Press of America, 1998, pp. 21-32.

In this essay, White outlines the structure and purpose of the Treatise, claiming that the work contains the philosophical approach and positions that characterize Hume's entire oeuvre.

Since Hume's initial inspiration finds its fullest expression in A Treatise of Human Nature, and most of his subsequent philosophical works are but a development or refinement of the program he set for himself at the start of the Treatise, a look at that work, especially at the Introduction, is indispensable. It can at the same time serve to locate Hume in his historical context.¹

The Treatise is divided into three books: 1. Of the Understanding; 2. Of the Passions; 3. Of Morals. The work as a whole is sub-titled, “Being...