Four Dissertations Ane Essays on Suicide and the Immortality of the Soul: Key Texts S

The essays in Four stand together as a unified whole, showcasing his psychology of the passions and demonstrating its application to both religion and aesthetics.

This edition also includes Hume's extended Dedication, a passionate endorsement of intellectual and artistic freedom, which has been out of print since the original publication in 1757.

The essays on suicide and the immortality of the soul, long separated from the other essays, are here finally put back, as intended by Hume. "On the Immortality of the Soul" briskly dismisses metaphysical, moral, and physical arguments, and refers us instead to a revelation that Hume himself clearly did not believe in. "On Suicide" vigorously rebuts the theologians' claim that self-destruction is a crime, arguing instead that under certaincircumstances, suicide might be not permissible but morally required.

Included are "Two Letters on Suicide" from Rousseau's Eloisa.