Adam Smith Reading Group

Friday, April 28, 2023 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM EDT
Buchanan Hall, D180

The reading group meets five Fridays a semester, from 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM, in Buchanan Hall D180 (in person only, an online option is not available) and is graciously supported in part by The Institute for Humane Studies.

This term (Spring 2023) we will read selections from David Hume, Essays Moral, Political, and Literary, ed. E.F. Miller, Liberty Fund, 1987. Online access to the publication can be found here.  We have some copies of the books available for graduate students. Interested students should write to ematson@mercatus.gmu.edu.

Articles in bold are the focal readings for this session, the remainder are optional:

Pages 465–598 [the essays beginning with "Of Essay Writing" were either unpublished or redacted in later editions of Hume's works, so they won't be emphasized much in discussion]

• “Of the Original Contract”
• “Of Passive Obedience”
• “Of the Coalition of Parties”
• “Of the Protestant Succession”
• “Idea of a Perfect Commonwealth”
• "Of Essay-Writing" [treated in the first session]
• "Of Moral Prejudices"
• “Of the Middle Station of Life”
• "Of Impudence and Modesty"
• "Of Love and Marriage"
• “Of the Study of History”
• “Of Avarice”
• "A Character of Sir Robert Wapole"
• "Of Suicide"
• "Of the Immortality of the Soul"

For more information on the Adam Smith Reading Group, click here.