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
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Page 5
... evidence, but solely on feeling; and that what then “open'd up to [him] a new Scene of Thought, which transported [him] beyond Measure” (giving birth in due course to the Treatise), was the discovery that this point of view could be ...
... evidence, but solely on feeling; and that what then “open'd up to [him] a new Scene of Thought, which transported [him] beyond Measure” (giving birth in due course to the Treatise), was the discovery that this point of view could be ...
Page 10
... evidence that Hume performed a radical “debilitating operation upon the Treatise” and removed almost all its theological content.48 The only exceptions to this, according to Laird, are the passages concerning the soul (1.4.5 and 6) and ...
... evidence that Hume performed a radical “debilitating operation upon the Treatise” and removed almost all its theological content.48 The only exceptions to this, according to Laird, are the passages concerning the soul (1.4.5 and 6) and ...
Page 12
... evidence relating to Hume's intentions in the Treatise, which should not be overlooked or dismissed. The reactions of Hume's earliest critics, I argue, show that they believed that there was an intimate connection between his skeptical ...
... evidence relating to Hume's intentions in the Treatise, which should not be overlooked or dismissed. The reactions of Hume's earliest critics, I argue, show that they believed that there was an intimate connection between his skeptical ...
Page 15
... evidence of truth sufficient to produce certainty.”21 In sum, Beattie leaves his readers in no doubt that Hume's skeptical intentions in the Treatise, and the works that followed, should be understood as nothing other than an “apology ...
... evidence of truth sufficient to produce certainty.”21 In sum, Beattie leaves his readers in no doubt that Hume's skeptical intentions in the Treatise, and the works that followed, should be understood as nothing other than an “apology ...
Page 20
... evidence. When Mossner and Price published Hume's Letter in 1967, they suggested that the author of the Specimen was Wishart, and their account of this matter has been widely accepted.45 The primary evidence in support of this ...
... evidence. When Mossner and Price published Hume's Letter in 1967, they suggested that the author of the Specimen was Wishart, and their account of this matter has been widely accepted.45 The primary evidence in support of this ...
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