Now one of the most widely read works in philosophy, David Hume's An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding (1748) introduced his philosophy to a broad educated readership. In it he gives an elegant an accessible presentation of strikingly original and challenging views about the limited powers of human understanding, the attractions of skepticism, the compatibility of free will and determinism, and weaknesses in the foundations of religion. In this volume, an authoritative new version of the text is enhanced by detailed explanatory notes, a glossary of terms, a full list of references, and a section of supplementary readings.