Introduction

This course examines David Hume's reasons for being complacent in the face of death, as these are laid out in his suppressed essay of 1755, ‘Of the immortality of the soul’. More generally, they examine some of the shifts in attitude concerning death and religious belief that were taking place in Europe at the end of the eighteenth century, through an examination of this and other short essays.

Course learning outcomes

After studying this course, you should be able to:

• Understand the debates in the late Enlightenment concerning suicide, immortality, the nature of evidence, the existence of God and related topics
• Understand some characteristic shifts and continuities in the move from Enlightenment ideals towards Romantic ones
• Feel confident that study can transform a centuries-old text into an enjoyable, informative, articulate and reasoned discussion of a familiar topic
• Examine set readings and appreciate some of its necessary background information.