Hume filosofo e storico naturale della religione: la scienza dell’uomo (religioso) tra Newton e Buffon

Hume Philosopher and Natural Historian of Religion: The Science of (Religious) Man Between Newton and Buffon · The relationship between philosophy, natural science and religion is a thread that binds together David Hume’s entire philosophical project, from its foundation in the Treatise of Human Nature (1739-40) to the posthumous publication of the Dialogues concerning Natural Religion (1779). This contribution offers a concise overview of some of the issues traversed by this thread. The first section traces the epistemological reflection that led Hume, as a scientist of human nature, to forge an alliance between philosophy and science and to break all links between the latter and theology. In this sense, Hume’s encounter with Newtonianism occupies a main place. The second section focuses on the Natural History of Religion and its relationship to eighteenth-century natural histories, first and foremost that of Buffon.