Hume

by Harold W. Noonan

Overview

The father of modern scepticism and perhaps the most important English philosopher, Hume was lauded within his own lifetime as a pivotal figure of the Enlightenment, with his highly original theories of perception, personal identity, causation, politics, morality, and religion. Hume’s voice, lucid and witty, is still an acute critic of human nature and Western thought.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781780744834
Publisher:	Oneworld Publications
Publication date:	10/01/2014
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	572 KB

About the Author

H. W. Noonan is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Birmingham, before which he was Research Fellow at Trinity Hall College, Cambridge. He is the author of numerous books and articles, including Hume on Knowledge (Routledge, 1998).

Table of Contents

Preface

1 Introduction: Hume's Life and Work
Hume's Life and Times
Themes and arguments in Hume’s philosophy
The place of the Hume in the History of Philosophy: Precursors, influences and effects

2 Hume's Theory of the Mind
The Contents of the Mind
Impressions and Ideas
The Copy Principle and the Missing Shade of Blue
The Copy Principle and Empiricism
The Association of Ideas
Abstract Ideas
Hume's Theory of Thought

3 Causation, Induction and Necessary Connection
The Grounds of Belief and the Role of Causation
The Idea of Cause
The Causal Maxim
Inference from the Observed to the Unobserved
The Nature and Causes of Belief
The Idea of Necessary Connection

4 The External World
The Continued and Distinct Existence of Body
The Vulgar and Philosophical Forms of the Belief in Body
The Causes of the Vulgar Form of the Belief in Body: Constancy and Coherence
The Role of Identity
The Philosophical Belief in Double Existence

5 The Self and Personal Identity
The Fiction of Personal Identity
The Reification of Perceptions
The Rejection of the Substantial Self
Hume's Account of the Source of the Mistake
Objections to Hume

6 Morality
Project and Predecessors
Reason and Passion
Reason and Morals
Morality and Sentiment
The Virtues
The Correction of Our Sentiments

7 Religion
Introduction
Miracles
Natural Religion

Bibliography
Index