The Riddle of Hume's Treatise: Skepticism, Naturalism, and IrreligionAlthough it is widely recognized that David Hume's A Treatise of Human Nature (1729-40) belongs among the greatest works of philosophy, there is little aggreement about the correct way to interpret his fundamental intentions. The solution to this riddle depends on challenging another, closely related, point of orthodoxy: namely, that before Hume published the Treatise he removed almost all material concerned with problems of religion. Russell argues, contrary to this view, that irreligious aims and objectives are fundamental to the Treatise and account for its underlying unity and coherence. It is Hume's basic anti-Christian aims and objectives that serve to shape and direct both his skeptical and naturalistic commitments. When Hume's arguments are viewed from this perspective we can solve, not only puzzles arising from his discussion of various specific issues, we can also explain the intimate and intricate connections that hold his entire project together. This "irreligious" interpretation provides a comprehensive fresh account of the nature of Hume's fundamental aims and ambitions in the Treatise. It also presents a radically different picture of the way in which Hume's project was rooted in the debates and controversies of his own time, placing the Treatise in an irreligious or anti-Christian philosophical tradition that includes Hobbes, Spinoza and freethinking followers. Considered in these terms, Hume's Treatise constitutes the crowning achievement of the Radical Enlightenment. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 84
Page 5
... argue is that it was under the direct influence of Francis Hutcheson that he was led to recognise that judgments of moral ... argues that there are several conflicts between Hume's Hutchesonian and Newtonian commitments, particularly in ...
... argue is that it was under the direct influence of Francis Hutcheson that he was led to recognise that judgments of moral ... argues that there are several conflicts between Hume's Hutchesonian and Newtonian commitments, particularly in ...
Page 6
... argues, for example, that it is a mistake to attempt “to describe Hume's work by any single philosophical epithet [e.g. skepticism, naturalism, etc.]....Yet for all that, there is a unity in his work; it is dominated by a single over ...
... argues, for example, that it is a mistake to attempt “to describe Hume's work by any single philosophical epithet [e.g. skepticism, naturalism, etc.]....Yet for all that, there is a unity in his work; it is dominated by a single over ...
Page 8
... argues that we can better understand the nature of Hume's project in the Treatise when it is “understood in the ... argues that Hume's philosophy involves two quite separate elements, each of which is a response to two different ...
... argues that we can better understand the nature of Hume's project in the Treatise when it is “understood in the ... argues that Hume's philosophy involves two quite separate elements, each of which is a response to two different ...
Page 10
... argues that Hume was careful to purge the Treatise of anything that could be taken as a contribution to the theological debates that were raging at the time. In particular, his decision to withdraw the discussion of miracles from the ...
... argues that Hume was careful to purge the Treatise of anything that could be taken as a contribution to the theological debates that were raging at the time. In particular, his decision to withdraw the discussion of miracles from the ...
Page 12
... argue that Kemp Smith distorts and oversimplifies what Reid and (especially) Beattie have to say on this subject. Second, and relatedly, I argue that the reactions to the Treatise that followed immediately after its publication contain ...
... argue that Kemp Smith distorts and oversimplifies what Reid and (especially) Beattie have to say on this subject. Second, and relatedly, I argue that the reactions to the Treatise that followed immediately after its publication contain ...
Contents
1 | |
II THE FORM AND FACE OF HUMES SYSTEM | 59 |
III THE NATURE OF HUMES UNIVERSE | 81 |
IV THE ELEMENTS OF VIRTUOUS ATHEISM | 223 |
V HUMES PHILOSOPHY OF IRRELIGION | 265 |
Catos Speech at the Oracle of Ammon | 301 |
Notes | 304 |
Bibliography | 390 |
Index | 409 |
Other editions - View all
The Riddle of Hume's Treatise: Skepticism, Naturalism, and Irreligion Paul Russell Limited preview - 2008 |
The Riddle of Hume's Treatise: Skepticism, Naturalism, and Irreligion Paul Russell Limited preview - 2010 |
The Riddle of Hume's Treatise: Skepticism, Naturalism, and Irreligion Paul Russell Limited preview - 2008 |
Common terms and phrases
Analogy argues argument a priori atheism attributes Baxter Bayle Bayle’s belief Berkeley Berkeley’s Boyle Lectures Butler causal cause chap chapter Christian claims Clarke Clarke’s Collins commitments concerning contemporaries context cosmological argument criticism Cudworth David Hume debate defenders deism deist Demonstration deny Descartes Dialogues discredit distinct doctrine Dudgeon Enquiry Essay evidence existence Fogelin follows freethinkers fundamental God’s Hobbes Hobbes’s Hobbist Human Nature Human Soul human understanding Hume’s account Hume’s discussion Hume’s intentions Hume’s philosophy Hume’s project Hume’s remarks Hume’s skeptical Hume’s Treatise Hume’s views Hutcheson idea immaterial important infinite infinite divisibility irreligion irreligious interpretation issue Kames Kemp Smith Leibniz Leviathan liberty Locke Locke’s Malebranche material world matter metaphysical mind Mossner natural religion necessitarianism necessity Newton Newtonian noted observations presented principles Pyrrhonism reason relation relevant religious Samuel Clarke says Scottish sense Shaftesbury significance skeptical arguments space specific Spinoza substance suggests theological things thinkers tion Toland Wishart