When he was only in his mid-twenties, David Hume wrote and published  A Treatise of Human Nature in which he claims to put forward a new system of philosophy that he believes “will not be inferior in certainty, and will be much superior in utility to any other of human comprehension.”  Again, in writing an anonymous letter in defense of his own work, Hume aligns himself with those who are putting forth “a new kind of philosophy, which promises more both to the entertainment and advantage of mankind, than any other with which the world has been yet acquainted.”

In this course we will study  Hume’s new philosophy of human understanding and its legacy.  We will begin with a brief review of the relevant philosophical positions of Hume’s predecessors, and will then work through Book I of the Treatise and An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding. In these works, Hume is primarily interested in developing a new theory of the nature of belief and the principles governing it.  In particular, he focuses on the nature and origin of our belief in causal connections between things, in the objective existence of physical objects, and in the existence of a persisting self. 

Hume then uses the results of his investigations to address the problem of free will and determinism, to assess the possibility of a rational belief in miracles and divine providence, to critique some of the principal doctrines that have been forwarded by previous philosophers, and to reflect on the nature and limits of philosophy itself.  In the last part of the course, we will consider Hume’s legacy by looking at the critical reaction to Hume made during his life by Thomas Reid, the so-called philosopher of common sense, and at how Hume has been appropriated more recently by those trying to develop a naturalistic approach to human cognition.

NOTE: This course fulfills the major requirement for a course in a major philosopher, and it may be taken by those who have already taken a course on a different philosopher under PHILO 383, e.g. Descartes.

Texts: 

1) David Hume,  A Treatise of Human Nature, ed. David Fate Norton and Mary J. Norton (Oxford University Press, 2000).  Paperback.  ISBN: 0198751729.  $24.95.

2) David Hume,  An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, ed. Stephen Buckle (Cambridge University Press, 2007). Paperback.  ISBN: 0521604036.  $22.99

3) David Hume,  Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, ed. Dorothy Coleman (Cambridge University Press, 2007).  Paperback. ISBN: 0521603595. $21.99.