# Hume and the Politics of Enlightenment **URL:** **By** Thomas W. Merrill, Matthew Feeney, Aaron Ross Powell **Published:** April 8, 2016 --- Thomas W. Merrill joins us to talk about the philosophy and political thought of David Hume. What is it about British philosopher David Hume that makes him so popular? What was Hume's attitude towards politics? Thomas W. Merrill joins us this week to talk about Hume's thought and his skeptical, empirical attitude. **Show Notes and Further Reading** Merrill's book, [_David Hume and the Politics of Enlightenment_](http://www.cambridge.org/tn/academic/subjects/politics-international-relations/political-theory/hume-and-politics-enlightenment) (2015) is available from Cambridge University Press. The Philosophy Bites podcast [asked philosophers who their favorite philosopher was](http://philosophybites.com/2012/11/whos-your-favourite-philosopher.html). Many of their guests chose David Hume. The Amazon Kindle edition of Hume's [_Essays_](http://www.amazon.com/Essays-David-Hume-ebook/dp/B0052GE0KS/) is available for free. Many of David Hume's other works are available for free at [davidhume.org](http://www.davidhume.org/).