How To Read Hume

How To Read Hume PDF Author: Simon Blackburn
Publisher: Granta Books
ISBN: 1783781459
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 145

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Book Description
'Be a philosopher; but, amidst all your philosophy, be still a man.' David Hume David Hume is generally recognized as the United Kingdom's greatest philosopher, as well as a notable historian and essayist and a central figure of the Enlightenment. Yet his work is delicately poised between scepticism and naturalism, between despair at the limited powers of the mind and optimism at the progress we can make by understanding it. This difficult balancing act has given rise to a multitude of different interpretations: reading Hume has never been free of controversy. In this new approach to his writings, Simon Blackburn describes how Hume can be considered one of the earliest, and most successful, evolutionary psychologists, weaving plausible natural accounts of the way we should think of ourselves and of how we have come to be what we are.

How To Read Hume

How To Read Hume PDF Author: Simon Blackburn
Publisher: Granta Books
ISBN: 1783781459
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 145

Get Book Here

Book Description
'Be a philosopher; but, amidst all your philosophy, be still a man.' David Hume David Hume is generally recognized as the United Kingdom's greatest philosopher, as well as a notable historian and essayist and a central figure of the Enlightenment. Yet his work is delicately poised between scepticism and naturalism, between despair at the limited powers of the mind and optimism at the progress we can make by understanding it. This difficult balancing act has given rise to a multitude of different interpretations: reading Hume has never been free of controversy. In this new approach to his writings, Simon Blackburn describes how Hume can be considered one of the earliest, and most successful, evolutionary psychologists, weaving plausible natural accounts of the way we should think of ourselves and of how we have come to be what we are.

Custom and Reason in Hume

Custom and Reason in Hume PDF Author: Henry E. Allison
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191615528
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 661

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Book Description
Henry Allison examines the central tenets of Hume's epistemology and cognitive psychology, as contained in the Treatise of Human Nature. Allison takes a distinctive two-level approach. On the one hand, he considers Hume's thought in its own terms and historical context. So considered, Hume is viewed as a naturalist, whose project in the first three parts of the first book of the Treatise is to provide an account of the operation of the understanding in which reason is subordinated to custom and other non-rational propensities. Scepticism arises in the fourth part as a form of metascepticism, directed not against first-order beliefs, but against philosophical attempts to ground these beliefs in the "space of reasons." On the other hand, Allison provides a critique of these tenets from a Kantian perspective. This involves a comparison of the two thinkers on a range of issues, including space and time, causation, existence, induction, and the self. In each case, the issue is seen to turn on a contrast between their underlying models of cognition. Hume is committed to a version of the perceptual model, according to which the paradigm of knowledge is a seeing with the "mind's eye" of the relation between mental contents. By contrast, Kant appeals to a discursive model in which the fundamental cognitive act is judgment, understood as the application of concepts to sensory data, Whereas regarded from the first point of view, Hume's account is deemed a major philosophical achievement, seen from the second it suffers from a failure to develop an adequate account of concepts and judgment.

The Essential David Hume

The Essential David Hume PDF Author: David Hume
Publisher: Signet Book
ISBN:
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 392

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Book Description
David Hume (1711-76) is the most important philosopher ever to have written in English. Although best known for his contributions to epistemology, metaphysics, and the philosophy of religion, Hume also made substantial and influential contributions to psychology and the philosophy of mind, ethics, the philosophy of science, political and economic theory, political and social history, and, to a lesser extent, aesthetic and literary theory. Of all of Hume's writings, the philosophically most profound is undoubtedly his first, "A Treatise on Human Nature." "Hume on Morality" introduces and assesses: Hume's life and the background of the "Treatise"; the ideas and text in the "Treatise"; and Hume's continuing importance to philosophy.

Hume-Arg Philosophers

Hume-Arg Philosophers PDF Author: Barry Stroud
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134958552
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 293

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Book Description
The purpose of this series is to provide a contemporary assessment and history of the entire course of philosophical thought. Each book constitutes a detailed, critical introduction to the work of a philosopher of major influence and significance. This volume seeks to provide a comprehensive interpretation of Hume’s philosophy and to expound and discuss his central problems against the background of that general interpretation.

Essays

Essays PDF Author: DAVID HUME
Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand
ISBN: 9361157671
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 90

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Book Description
The 18th-century collection of philosophical articles "Essays" was penned by Scottish Enlightenment philosopher David Hume. The essays' broad range of subjects reflects Hume's varied interests in politics, literature, and philosophy. "A Treatise of Human Nature," one of Hume's most important essays, examines human thinking and makes the case for a more sceptical and empirical philosophy. He promotes a study of human nature based on observation and experience, challenging conventional beliefs about causality, identity, and the nature of knowledge. Hume's writing is distinguished by its empiricism, wit, and clarity. His writings, which provide insights into human nature, the basis of knowledge, and the difficulties of moral and aesthetic judgments, continue to have an impact on the domains of philosophy and economics. The compilation offers a thorough understanding of Hume's contributions to philosophy and is still studied because of its significant influence on Western thought.

An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding

An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding PDF Author: David Hume
Publisher: e-artnow
ISBN: 8027303893
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 119

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Book Description
"An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding" is a book by David Hume created as a revision of an earlier work, Hume's "A Treatise of Human Nature". The argument of the Enquiry proceeds by a series of incremental steps, separated into chapters which logically succeed one another. After expounding his epistemology, Hume explains how to apply his principles to specific topics. This book has proven highly influential, both in the years that would immediately follow and today. Immanuel Kant points to it as the book which woke him from his self-described "dogmatic slumber."

Hume's 'A Treatise of Human Nature'

Hume's 'A Treatise of Human Nature' PDF Author: John P. Wright
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521833760
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 337

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Book Description
Examines the development of Hume's ideas and their relation to eighteenth-century theories of the imagination and passions.

The Great Guide

The Great Guide PDF Author: Julian Baggini
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691220867
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 328

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Book Description
Invaluable wisdom on living a good life from one of the Enlightenment's greatest philosophers David Hume (1711–1776) is perhaps best known for his ideas about cause and effect and his criticisms of religion, but he is rarely thought of as a philosopher with practical wisdom to offer. Yet Hume's philosophy is grounded in an honest assessment of nature—human nature in particular. The Great Guide is an engaging and eye-opening account of how Hume's thought should serve as the basis for a complete approach to life. In this enthralling book, Julian Baggini masterfully interweaves biography with intellectual history and philosophy to give us a complete vision of Hume's guide to life. He follows Hume on his life's journey, literally walking in the great philosopher's footsteps as Baggini takes readers to the places that inspired Hume the most, from his family estate near the Scottish border to Paris, where, as an older man, he was warmly embraced by French society. Baggini shows how Hume put his philosophy into practice in a life that blended reason and passion, study and leisure, and relaxation and enjoyment. The Great Guide includes 145 Humean maxims for living well, on topics ranging from the meaning of success and the value of travel to friendship, facing death, identity, and the importance of leisure. This book shows how life is far richer with Hume as your guide.

Starting with Hume

Starting with Hume PDF Author: Charlotte Randall Brown
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1441121056
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 196

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Book Description
This book presents a new introduction to Hume, guiding the student through the key concepts of Hume's work by examining the overall development of his ideas. David Hume is widely regarded as the greatest English thinker in the history of philosophy. His contributions to a huge range of philosophical debates are as important and influential now as they were in the eighteenth century. Covering all the key concepts of his work, Starting with Hume provides an accessible introduction to the ideas of this hugely significant thinker. Clearly structured according to Hume's central ideas, the book leads the reader through a thorough overview of the development of his thought, resulting in a more thorough understanding of the roots of his philosophical concerns. Offering comprehensive coverage of Hume's philosophical method, the book explores his contributions to philosophy of mind, causation, the foundation of ethics, natural virtues and philosophy or religion. Crucially the book introduces the major philosophical movements and thinkers whose work proved influential in the development of Hume's thought, including Nicolas Malebranche, Thomas Hobbes, and John Locke. This is the ideal introduction for anyone coming to the work of this hugely important thinker for the first time. Continuum's Starting With... series offers clear, concise and accessible introductions to the key thinkers in philosophy. The books explore and illuminate the roots of each philosopher's work and ideas, leading readers to a thorough understanding of the key influences and philosophical foundations from which his or her thought developed. Ideal for first-year students starting out in philosophy, the series will serve as the ideal companion to study of this fascinating subject.

Knowledge, Reason, and Taste

Knowledge, Reason, and Taste PDF Author: Paul Guyer
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691151172
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 281

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Book Description
Immanuel Kant famously said that he was awoken from his "dogmatic slumbers," and led to question the possibility of metaphysics, by David Hume's doubts about causation. Because of this, many philosophers have viewed Hume's influence on Kant as limited to metaphysics. More recently, some philosophers have questioned whether even Kant's metaphysics was really motivated by Hume. In Knowledge, Reason, and Taste, renowned Kant scholar Paul Guyer challenges both of these views. He argues that Kant's entire philosophy--including his moral philosophy, aesthetics, and teleology, as well as his metaphysics--can fruitfully be read as an engagement with Hume. In this book, the first to describe and assess Hume's influence throughout Kant's philosophy, Guyer shows where Kant agrees or disagrees with Hume, and where Kant does or doesn't appear to resolve Hume's doubts. In doing so, Guyer examines the progress both Kant and Hume made on enduring questions about causes, objects, selves, taste, moral principles and motivations, and purpose and design in nature. Finally, Guyer looks at questions Kant and Hume left open to their successors.