Author Archives: F. E. Guerra-Pujol

The Scottish Enlightenment figure David Hume (pictured above) makes four important preliminary observations about the relationship between evidence and probability in the first part his essay “Of Miracles” (paragraphs 3 to 8). For reference, I will restate Hume’s main points … Continue reading →

Thus far this week, I have restated Hume’s “hearsay argument” against transubstantiation (see here) and surveyed some possible exceptions to the hearsay rule in law that might be application to the case of transubstantiation (here). But what is my position … Continue reading →

Previously, I described David Hume’s restatement of John Tillotson’s anti-transubstantiation argument in the form of a logical syllogism. In summary, Hume’s syllogism is this: there is no direct evidence that transubstantiation really occurs during the sacrament of Communion; instead, the … Continue reading →

We spent most of the month of February surveying Adam Smith’s analysis of tariffs in Book IV, Chapter 2 of The Wealth of Nations. This month, I want to explore the work of another great Scottish Enlightenment figure: David Hume … Continue reading →

Should the United States create an “External Revenue Service” as President Trump has recently proposed? As it happens, Adam Smith concludes Book IV, Chapter 2 of The Wealth of Nations (Para. 45) by asking whether “it may be proper to … Continue reading →

One of the greatest ironies of Book IV, Chapter 2 of Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations is this: on the one hand, it contains some of the strongest arguments ever made in favor of free trade, and yet, at the … Continue reading →

Is “freedom of trade”, whether at home or among nations, an attainable ideal? Adam Smith explains in just a few words why, alas, it is not! For reference, his explanation appears in the antepenultimate paragraph of Book IV, Chapter 2 … Continue reading →

“… though a great number of people should, by thus restoring the freedom of trade, be thrown all at once out of their ordinary employment and common method of subsistence, it would by no means follow that they would thereby … Continue reading →

We revisited Adam Smith’s fourth and final exception to free trade in my previous post. In summary, the father of economics makes a limited exception for trade barriers that are already on the books. Specifically, if the removal of such … Continue reading →