For ages, philosophers have grappled with the debate over whether human actions are performed “in freedom” or not. “It is “the most controversial question in metaphysics, the most controversial science” (Hume 528). In section VIII of An Inquiry into Human Understanding, David Hume turns his attention to the necessary connection to the themes "Of Liberty and Necessity". Although these two topics may constitute one of the most controversial issues in philosophy, Hume suggests that the difficulties and controversies surrounding liberty (i.e. free will) and necessity (i.e. -say causal determinism) are simply due to the fact that the opponents have not correctly defined their terms. He asserts that all people, “both learned and ignorant, have always been of the same opinion on this subject, and that a few intelligible definitions would have at once put an end to the whole controversy” (Hume 522). Hume's overall strategy in Section VIII is to stick to his own assertion and carefully define "liberty" and "necessity" and to challenge contemporary associations of these terms by proving that they are compatible . Because of his previous focus on necessity in Section VII, Hume's tactic in this section is to repeat his thoughts on the nature of necessity. He begins by examining “what we are happy to call physical necessity” (Hume 526) and attempts to present an argument for how human actions are necessary (i.e., causally determined). According to Hume, there are laws in nature which are "actuated by necessary forces and that each natural effect is so precisely determined by the energy of its cause that no other effect, under such particular circumstances, could have result” ( Hume 523). Hume in the middle of the article...... Hume proposes to attribute a sense of moral responsibility lost in Hume's interpretation of the doctrine of liberty and necessities, because humans are only responsible for their choices . In the debate concerning liberty (i.e. free will) and necessity (i.e. causal determinism), Hume places himself firmly in the compatibilist camp by asserting that the two notions can be reconciled. Although some of the arguments he presents in the Inquiry are unconvincing, Hume nevertheless contributes to compatibilism by defining free will and determinism in a way that avoids the logic of the incompatibilist position. Works Cited Hume, David. An investigation into human understanding. Modern Philosophy: An Anthology of Primary Sources. Roger Ariew and Eric Watkins. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 1998. 522-532. Print.