Of the Liberty of the Press

E80226

essay philosophical work

Of the Liberty of the Press is an essay by David Hume that examines the importance, limits, and political implications of freedom of the press in civil society.

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All labels observed (3)

Label	Occurrences
Of the Liberty of the Press canonical	2
Essay on Liberty of the Press	1
Of Seditions and Troubles	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T641528 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Of the Liberty of the Press
Context triple: [Essays, Moral and Political, hasPart, Of the Liberty of the Press]

A. Junius Pamphlet
The Junius Pamphlet is Rosa Luxemburg’s influential anti-war tract written during World War I, in which she denounces militarism and imperialism and defends revolutionary socialism.
B. Letter to the Free
"Letter to the Free" is a politically charged hip-hop song by Common that reflects on mass incarceration and racial injustice in the United States.
C. A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America
A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America is a three-volume political treatise by John Adams that analyzes historical republics to justify and defend the proposed American system of separated powers and mixed government.
D. The Biglow Papers
The Biglow Papers is a satirical collection of dialect poems and prose by James Russell Lowell that critiques the Mexican–American War and contemporary politics in mid-19th-century America.
E. Notes on the State of Virginia
Notes on the State of Virginia is Thomas Jefferson’s detailed 18th-century survey of Virginia’s geography, natural resources, society, politics, and laws, and his only full-length published book.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Of the Liberty of the Press
Target entity description: Of the Liberty of the Press is an essay by David Hume that examines the importance, limits, and political implications of freedom of the press in civil society.

A. Junius Pamphlet
The Junius Pamphlet is Rosa Luxemburg’s influential anti-war tract written during World War I, in which she denounces militarism and imperialism and defends revolutionary socialism.
B. Letter to the Free
"Letter to the Free" is a politically charged hip-hop song by Common that reflects on mass incarceration and racial injustice in the United States.
C. A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America
A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America is a three-volume political treatise by John Adams that analyzes historical republics to justify and defend the proposed American system of separated powers and mixed government.
D. The Biglow Papers
The Biglow Papers is a satirical collection of dialect poems and prose by James Russell Lowell that critiques the Mexican–American War and contemporary politics in mid-19th-century America.
E. Notes on the State of Virginia
Notes on the State of Virginia is Thomas Jefferson’s detailed 18th-century survey of Virginia’s geography, natural resources, society, politics, and laws, and his only full-length published book.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (46)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	essay ⓘ philosophical work ⓘ
aimsTo	analyze the political function of a free press ⓘ define proper bounds of press freedom ⓘ
author	David Hume ⓘ
circulatedAs	printed essay ⓘ
countryOfOrigin	Great Britain ⓘ
creator	David Hume ⓘ
discusses	abuses of the press ⓘ censorship ⓘ importance of a free press ⓘ limits of press freedom ⓘ party politics ⓘ political implications of press freedom ⓘ relationship between press and government ⓘ role of public opinion ⓘ stability of government ⓘ
genre	political essay ⓘ political philosophy ⓘ
hasForm	prose ⓘ
hasInfluenceOn	later debates on freedom of the press ⓘ liberal political theory ⓘ
hasPhilosophicalPerspective	empiricism ⓘ skepticism ⓘ
historicalContext	18th century ⓘ Age of Enlightenment ⓘ
influencedBy	18th-century British politics ⓘ British constitutional practice ⓘ
intendedAudience	educated public ⓘ political thinkers ⓘ
language	English ⓘ
mainSubject	civil society ⓘ constitutional government ⓘ freedom of the press ⓘ political liberty ⓘ
partOf	David Hume's political essays ⓘ linked to: Essays, Moral and Political
philosophicalTheme	balance between authority and liberty ⓘ limits of obedience to government ⓘ public sphere and discourse ⓘ role of criticism in government ⓘ
philosophicalTradition	Enlightenment philosophy ⓘ
positionOnTopic	acknowledges potential dangers of unrestrained press ⓘ supports a free press as a safeguard of liberty ⓘ warns against complete suppression of political writing ⓘ
relatedWork	Essays, Moral, Political, and Literary ⓘ linked to: Essays, Moral and Political
title	Of the Liberty of the Press ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (4)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Essays, Moral and Political → hasPart → Of the Liberty of the Press ⓘ

Essays → hasPart → Of Seditions and Troubles ⓘ

linked to: Of the Liberty of the Press

Of the Liberty of the Press → title → Of the Liberty of the Press ⓘ

James Mill’s Essays on Government, Jurisprudence, Liberty of the Press, and Law of Nations → hasPart → Essay on Liberty of the Press ⓘ