The Proud Self: A Humean Ethics of Virtue

by Lorenzo Greco

Overview

This book presents a novel interpretation of Hume as a proponent of sentimental virtue ethics. This interpretation sheds light on the nature of Hume’s ethics, as well as its relevance for contemporary debates in moral philosophy.

The book starts by developing an understanding of the self in Hume based on the passion of pride. Contrary to the common view that Hume denies the unity of the self by diluting it into a bundle or collection of different perceptions, the author argues that, by focusing on pride, it is possible to identify in Hume a firm notion of the self as having a sentimental nature that can be explained in narrative terms. Pivoting on this narrative self, he shows how it accounts for the Humean notion of the virtuous person by holding together in a harmonious whole several central issues in Hume’s moral philosophy, including sympathy, the point of view from which we make moral judgements, the practical nature of ethics and the role that reflection plays in it, and the definition of perfect character. Finally, the author maintains that Humean virtue ethics, so understood, has the individual at its core, representing a secular and pluralist alternative to neo-Aristotelian versions discussed today. The Proud Self will appeal to scholars and graduate students working on Hume, 18th-century philosophy, virtue ethics, and moral psychology.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781041009405
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	05/29/2025
Series:	Routledge Studies in Eighteenth-Century Philosophy
Pages:	218
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Lorenzo Greco is Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of L'Aquila. His research areas include ethics, moral psychology, political philosophy, and the British Enlightenment, with a particular focus on David Hume. His work has appeared in journals such as the Journal of the History of Philosophy, the British Journal for the History of Philosophy, Utilitas, and in various collections.

Table of Contents

Introduction  1. The Problem of the Self  2. The Narrative of the Self  3. A Sympathetic Standpoint  4. The Perfect Character  5. Humean Reflective Endorsement  6. Humean Virtue Ethics

Editorial Reviews

"The Proud Self is an ambitious and rewarding book in which Lorenzo Greco develops a new interpretation of Hume’s notion of the self. Central to his account is pride and the role this plays in the ongoing narratives that frame our lives. This account is supported by a Humean virtue ethics, from which Greco’s persuasive picture of Hume’s sentiment-based account of the self emerges. Greco thus rejects the no-self interpretation of Hume and Aristotelian virtue ethics and in developing his rich and distinctive interpretation, we discover the relations in Hume between virtue, sympathy, character, autonomy, pride and agency. A must-read for anyone interested in Hume."

Dan O'Brien, Oxford Brookes University, UK

From the Publisher