Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion

Cleanthes argues from the design of nature to an intelligent author; Demea defends the rationalist a priori proofs; Philo, the skeptic, undoes both. Written and revised over twenty-five years and held back from publication until after Hume's death in 1776, the *Dialogues* are the most rigorous philosophical assault on natural theology ever composed — anticipating Darwin's challenge to the design argument by nearly a century. Hume's dialogue form lets him pursue every line of argument to its end without committing himself; the reader is left to judge which voice prevails.