Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion. de HUME, David - 1779

London: [no publisher named,], 1779. Hume's "greatest achievement in the philosophy of religion" Second edition, published the same year as the first, of the philosopher's critique of rational arguments for the existence of God, one of his most controversial tracts, and among his final published works. In the Dialogues, Hume characteristically refutes the cosmological and teleological arguments offered for God's existence. He is particularly concerned with the argument from design - the argument that the intricacy and order of the natural world mirrors the intricacy and order of artificially created products to such an extent that the existence of an intelligent creator is necessarily implied. The Dialogues have been termed his "greatest achievement in the philosophy of religion" (Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy). Hume's correspondence suggests that the Dialogues were at least drafted by 1751. It appears that he refrained from publishing the work during his lifetime on the advice of his friends, who were presumably concerned about its irreligious content. Hume eventually instructed his nephew David to publish the work if Strahan, his first choice, failed to do so. Provenance: Charles Kinnaird, eighth Lord Kinnaird (1780-1826), Scottish Whig politician and son of the prominent art collector George Kinnaird (1754-1805), with his armorial bookplate on the front pastedown. Octavo (208 x 129 mm). Contemporary green quarter sheep, smooth spine ruled, lettered, and with naval battle decoration in gilt, marbled paper sides and endpapers, brown sheep tips, edges light yellow, green silk book marker. Light bumping and rubbing, slight sunning to spine, minor toning and foxing to endpapers and outer leaves: a very good copy. Jessop, p. 41.