Audiobook · read by volunteers
Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion
David Hume (1711–1776)
Read by Leon Mire · 13 chapters · 4 h 01
About the book
Can we know that God exists, and if so, what can we say about him? David Hume stages the question as a conversation among three speakers. Cleanthes believes that the order of the world points to a divine designer. Demea holds that God is beyond human understanding and is best approached with faith. Philo, the sharpest of the three, probes every argument and enjoys finding its weak joint. The result is a lively philosophical drama, in which good manners barely hide a fierce clash of ideas. Hume's prose is clear, balanced and often wry. Over thirteen short sections, the book takes up design, evil, infinity and the limits of reason itself. Leon Mire reads the whole dialogue in about four hours. The arguments are subtle, the manners are polite and the stakes are high.
Introduction
David Hume, who lived from 1711 to 1776, was a Scottish philosopher and historian, and one of the central figures of the Enlightenment. He is known for his Treatise of Human Nature, his Enquiries and his History of England, and for a rigorous, sceptical way of examining what we really know. The Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion were written over many years, but because their subject was so sensitive, they were published only after his death, in 1779.
Choosing the form of a dialogue allowed Hume to explore the arguments without simply announcing a verdict. There is an old tradition behind this choice: the dialogues of Plato and of Cicero were obvious models. Readers have argued ever since about which speaker comes closest to Hume's own view. The discussion is at once polite and unsettling, and it covers arguments about design in nature, the problem of suffering and the limits of human reason, all of which remain live questions in philosophy of religion.
This LibriVox recording lasts about four hours and is divided into 13 sections, including a preface and the twelve parts of the dialogue. It is read by one volunteer, Leon Mire. It will appeal to anyone interested in the history of ideas, in the long debate between faith and doubt, or simply in a conversation conducted with wit and clarity.
The dialogue is brief enough to be taken in one or two sittings, but it leaves a lot to think about. Each speaker can seem the most persuasive in turn, which is part of the pleasure, and the questions it raises are by no means out of date.
Public domain
David Hume died in 1776: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text