Abstract

This research focuses on the comparison of Hume ´s essay On Suicide and the letters XXI y XXII present in the third book of Julia or the New Heloise written by Rouseeau, that were published together by an anonymous editor in England in 1783. We will analyse the arguments present in both texts, the different reactions the audience of that time had and the possible common sources between them. On the basis of this study, the second attempt of this paper is to show how the literary style used in these works and common among the 18th century thinkers is related to a particular kind of philosophical reflection upon issues that couldn’t be measured by general rules.