Read The Classics: A Treatise of Human Nature October 12, 2008

The Multnomah County Library invites you to take part in a new book series, where you can read some of the best all-time classics and discuss them under the leadership of Paul Hovda, Professor of Philosophy and Humanities at Reed College. Participation is free, but registration is required. You can register online at http://www.multcolib.org/events/classics/philosophy.html
A limited number of books will be available free of charge for those who pre-register.

Written when David Hume was in his early twenties, A Treatise of Human Nature (1739) boldly undertakes to found a "science of human nature," in much the way that Newton was supposed to have recently done for the science of physics. Taking up many of Descartes' questions, Hume intended to discern the fundamental parts and forces of the mind, and was led to answers radically different from Descartes'. Despite the flaws in his approach, there is no doubt that Hume's arguments are brilliant, fascinating, and unsettling, for he seems to find compelling considerations for deflating conclusions about us: our most deep–seated concepts are not rationally attributable to the world in the way many philosophers have thought — for example, the relation of causation is not a "force" in the world, but a kind of projection of the mind; our most deep–seated moral convictions are not rationally justifiable. In certain ways, Hume's philosophy is decisively "modern," not least in its more disturbing moments.

Official Website: http://www.multcolib.org/events/classics/philosophy.html