Hume’s ‘‘Life’’ and the virtues of the dying

Hume’s autobiography, ‘‘My Own Life,’’1 is short and to all appearances quite bland. Its twenty-one paragraphs contain only a cursory summary of the major events in his life – jobs held, cities visited, and especially the books that he wrote. He goes through each of his major works, says a word or two about when and where it was drafted, notes its publication date, and then describes his reactions to the reception it received. Hume’s intention was merely for the ‘‘Life’’ to be a preface to future editions of his works. He did not write it with any overtly philosophical purpose.