A Treatise of Human NatureBy: David Hume One of the most significant works of Western philosophy, Hume's Treatise was published in 1739 40, before he was thirty years old. A pinnacle of English empiricism, it is a comprehensive attempt to apply scientific methods of observation to a study of human nature, and a vigorous attack upon the principles of traditional metaphysical thought. With masterly eloquence, Hume denies the immortality of the soul and the reality of space;