The Relation between the Treatise and the Enquiry
This chapter outlines two critical interpretive issues: the relationship between Hume’s scepticism and his naturalism; and the relationship between the Treatise of Human Nature and the Enquiry concerning Human Understanding. In particular, it makes a preliminary case that these two interpretive issues are intimately connected: Hume changes his epistemology between the Treatise and the Enquiry due to a dissatisfaction with his treatment of scepticism in the former work. The chapter offers a preliminary investigation of Hume’s characterisation of the relationship between the Treatise and the Enquiry. It outlines a case for Hume’s motivation in writing the Advertisement and the Enquiry being a concern for his intellectual legacy. In particular, it is suggested that the Enquiry and the Advertisement are meant to rectify Hume’s treatment of scepticism in the Treatise.