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 The Continuum
Companion to Hume

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9780826443595_Prelims_Final_txt_print.indd ii 2/9/2012 9:38:07 PM
 THE CONTINUUM
COMPANION TO HUME

GENERAL EDITORS

Alan Bailey
Dan O’Brien

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 First published in 2012 by

Continuum International Publishing Group

The Tower Building 80 Maiden Lane

11 York Road Suite 704
London SE1 7NX New York, NY 10038

Companion to Hume
EISBN 978 1 44111 461 7

© Continuum, 2012

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A CIP record of this title is available from the British Library

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be

reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any way or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,
without the written permission of the copyright holder.

Typeset in Sabon by
Newgen Publishing and Data Services
Printed and bound in Great Britain

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 CONTENTS

List of Contributors vii

Abbreviations for Works Written by Hume ix
Acknowledgements xi
David Hume – A Timeline xiii

INTRODUCTION 1
1. HUME’S LIFE, INTELLECTUAL CONTEXT AND
RECEPTION 20
Emilio Mazza
2. HUME’S EMPIRICIST INNER EPISTEMOLOGY:
A REASSESSMENT OF THE COPY PRINCIPLE 38
Tom Seppalainen and Angela Coventry
3. HUME’S ‘SCEPTICISM’ ABOUT INDUCTION 57
Peter Millican
4. THE PSYCHOLOGY AND EPISTEMOLOGY OF
HUME’S ACCOUNT OF PROBABLE REASONING 104
Lorne Falkenstein
5. CAUSATION AND NECESSARY CONNECTION 131
Helen Beebee
6. HUME ON SCEPTICISM AND THE MORAL SCIENCES 146
Alan Bailey
7. THE SELF AND PERSONAL IDENTITY 167
Harold Noonan
8. ‘ALL MY HOPES VANISH’: HUME ON THE MIND 181
Galen Strawson
9. ACTION, REASON AND THE PASSIONS 199
Constantine Sandis

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 CONTENTS

10. FREE WILL 214

James A. Harris
11. HUME ON MIRACLES 227
Duncan Pritchard and Alasdair Richmond
12. DAVID HUME AND THE ARGUMENT TO DESIGN 245
Andrew Pyle
13. PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS OF RELIGIOUS BELIEF 265
David O’Connor
14. HUME’S SENTIMENTALIST ACCOUNT OF
MORAL JUDGEMENT 279
Julia Driver
15. HUME AND THE VIRTUES 288
Dan O’Brien
16. HUME’S HUMAN NATURE 303
Russell Hardin
17. HUME AND FEMINISM 319
Lívia Guimarães
18. HUME ON ECONOMIC WELL-BEING 332
Margaret Schabas
19. ‘OF THE STANDARD OF TASTE’: DECISIONS,
RULES AND CRITICAL ARGUMENT 349
M. W. Rowe
20. HUME ON HISTORY 364
Timothy M. Costelloe
21. HUME’S LEGACY AND THE IDEA OF BRITISH EMPIRICISM 377
Paul Russell

Bibliography 396
Index of Names 437
Index of Topics 441

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 LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

Alan Bailey Lorne Falkenstein

Visiting Lecturer in Philosophy Professor of Philosophy
School of Law, Social Sciences and Department of Philosophy
Communications University of Western Ontario
University of Wolverhampton Canada
UK
Lívia Guimarães
Helen Beebee Lecturer in Philosophy
Professor of Philosophy Department of Philosophy
Department of Philosophy Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
University of Birmingham Brazil
UK
Russell Hardin
Timothy Costelloe Professor of Politics
Associate Professor of Philosophy Department of Politics
Department of Philosophy New York University
College of William and Mary USA
USA
James Harris
Angela Coventry Senior Lecturer in Philosophy
Associate Professor of Philosophy Department of Philosophy
Department of Philosophy St Andrews University
Portland State University UK
USA
Emilio Mazza
Julia Driver Associate Professor
Professor of Philosophy Institute of Human Sciences, Language and
Department of Philosophy Environment
Washington University in St Louis Università IULM, Milan
USA Italy

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 LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

Peter Millican Department of Philosophy

Gilbert Ryle Fellow and Professor of University of Edinburgh
Philosophy UK
Hertford College
University of Oxford M.W. Rowe
UK Senior Lecturer in Philosophy
Department of Philosophy
Harold Noonan University of East Anglia
Professor of Philosophy UK
Department of Philosophy
University of Nottingham Paul Russell
UK Professor of Philosophy
Department of Philosophy
Dan O’Brien University of British Columbia
Senior Lecturer in Philosophy Canada
Department of History, Philosophy and
Religion Constantine Sandis
Oxford Brookes University Reader in Philosophy
UK Department of History, Philosophy and
Religion
David O’Connor Oxford Brookes University
Professor of Philosophy UK
Department of Philosophy
Seton Hall University Margaret Schabas
USA Professor of Philosophy
Department of Philosophy
Duncan Pritchard University of British Columbia
Professor of Philosophy Canada
Department of Philosophy
University of Edinburgh Tom Seppalainen
UK Associate Professor of Philosophy
Department of Philosophy
Andrew Pyle Portland State University
Reader in Philosophy USA
Department of Philosophy
University of Bristol Galen Strawson
UK Professor of Philosophy
Department of Philosophy
Alasdair Richmond University of Reading
Senior Lecturer in Philosophy UK

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 ABBREVIATIONS FOR WORKS
WRITTEN BY HUME

Abs An Abstract of a Book lately Published; Entituled, A Treatise of Human Nature

Cited by paragraph and page number from the texts included in the editions of THN listed
below.

DIS A Dissertation on the Passions

Cited by section and paragraph number from A Dissertation on the Passions; The Natural
History of Religion, The Clarendon Edition of the Works of David Hume, ed. T.L. Beauchamp
(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2007). Hence DIS 1.2 = Section 1, paragraph 2.

DNR Dialogues concerning Natural Religion, ed. N. Kemp Smith, 2nd edn with supple-
ment (London and Edinburgh: Thomas Nelson, 1947).
Cited by part and page number (e.g. DNR 1.135 = Part 1, page 135).

E Essays, Moral, Political, and Literary, ed. E.F. Miller (Indianapolis: Liberty Classics,
1987).
Cited by page number.

EHU An Enquiry concerning Human Understanding, ed. T.L. Beauchamp (Oxford:

Oxford University Press, 1999).
Cited by section and paragraph number, and supplemented by the corresponding page num-
ber in Enquiries concerning Human Understanding and concerning the Principles of Morals,
ed. L.A. Selby-Bigge, 3rd edn with text revised and notes by P.H. Nidditch (Oxford: Clarendon
Press, 1975). Hence EHU 5.1 / 40 = Section 5, paragraph 1 in the Beauchamp edition and
page 40 in the Selby-Bigge edition.

EPM An Enquiry concerning the Principles of Morals, ed. T.L. Beauchamp (Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 1998).
Cited by section and paragraph number, and supplemented by the corresponding page num-
ber in Enquiries concerning Human Understanding and concerning the Principles of Morals,
ed. L.A. Selby-Bigge, 3rd edn with text revised and notes by P.H. Nidditch (Oxford: Clarendon

ix

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 ABBREVIATIONS FOR WORKS WRITTEN BY HUME

Press, 1975). Hence EPM 2.2 / 176–7 = Section 2, paragraph 2 in the Beauchamp edition and
pages 176–7 in the Selby-Bigge edition.

H The History of England, from the Invasion of Julius Caesar to the Revolution in
1688, ed. W.B. Todd, 6 vols (Indianapolis: Liberty Classics, 1983).
Cited by volume and page number (e.g. H1.155 = Volume 1, page 155).

LDH Letters of David Hume, ed. J.Y.T. Greig, 2 vols (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1932).
Cited by volume, page number, and letter number (e.g. LDH 1.11–12, 5 = Volume 1, pages
11–12, letter 5).

LFG A Letter from a Gentleman to his Friend in Edinburgh, ed. E.C. Mossner and
J.V. Price (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1967).
Cited by page number.

MOL My Own Life.

Usually cited by page number from Volume 1 of LDH above.

NHR The Natural History of Religion.

Cited by page or, where applicable, part and page number from Dialogues and Natural
History of Religion, Oxford World’s Classics, ed. J.C.A. Gaskin (Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 1993). Hence NHR 134 = page 134; NHR 1.135 = Part 1, page 135.

NLH New Letters of David Hume, eds. R. Klibansky and E.C. Mossner (Oxford:
Clarendon Press, 1954).
Cited by page and letter number (e.g. NLH 5–6, 3 = pages 5–6, letter 3).

THN A Treatise of Human Nature, eds. D.F. Norton and M.J. Norton (Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2000).
Cited by book, part, section and paragraph number, and supplemented by the corresponding
page number in A Treatise of Human Nature, ed. L.A. Selby-Bigge, 2nd edn with text revised
and notes by P.H. Nidditch (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1978). Hence THN 1.4.7.1 / 263 =
Book 1, part 4, section 7, paragraph 1 in the Norton edition and page 263 in the Selby-Bigge
edition.

References to the Appendix of the Treatise make use of the abbreviation App. and are then
given by paragraph and page number (eg. THN App. 1 / 623 = paragraph 1 of the Appendix
in the Norton edition and page 623 in the Selby-Bigge edition).
References to the editorial material of the Oxford Philosophical Texts or Clarendon Critical
Edition versions of the Norton edition are by page number and the abbreviations THN-P and
THN-C respectively.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Special thanks to our copy editor, Merilyn Holme, for coaxing and prodding the book to
completion; a far from easy task particularly given, in the final months, the looming festive
season. We are immensely grateful to her and to Sarah Douglas at Continuum for commis-
sioning the project. Thanks are due as usual to the Edwardian Tea Room in the Birmingham
Museum and Art Gallery for refreshments and scholarly ambience, and Birmingham Central
Library provided from its stacks a range of books and journals that would have done credit to
a major university library. We would also like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude
to the following colleagues at Oxford Brookes University, the University of Wolverhampton
and Keele University: Stephen Boulter, Mark Cain, Beverley Clack, Geraldine Coggins, Meena
Dhanda, Giuseppina D’Oro, Cécile Hatier, William Pawlett and Constantine Sandis.
A. B. and D. O’B.
Much of my work on this book has been timetabled around the ongoing DIY house project
that Lucy and I are undertaking. This is something that I am sure Hume would appreciate.
If not hands-on, he was certainly no slouch when it came to the upkeep of the home. When
the ‘[p]laister broke down in the kitchen’ in his house in James’s Court, Edinburgh, he tells us
that:

[his repairman] having thus got into the house, went about teizing Lady Wallace [Hume’s
tenant], and telling her, that this and the other thing was wrong, and ought to be mended.
She told him, as she informs me, that everything was perfectly right, and she wou’d trou-
ble the Landlord for nothing. Yet the Fellow had the Impudence to come to me, and tell
me that he was sent by Lady Wallace to desire that some Stone Pavement under the Coal
Bunker shoud be repair’d. I, having a perfect Confidence in Lady Wallace’s Discretion,
directed him to repair it, as she desir’d. Having got this Authority, which cannot be good
as it was obtain’d by a Lye, he not only pav’d the Bunker anew, but rais’d a great deal of
the other Pavement of the Kitchen and laid it anew, nay, from his own head, took on him
to white-wash the Kitchen: For all which, he brought me in an account of 30 Shillings.
(NLH 115, 206)

The contributors to this book may have explored Hume’s contributions to metaphysics,
morality, religion and epistemology, but I have sympathetic appreciation of his knowledge of

xi

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

that great human pursuit of house-building. And my deepest gratitude goes to Lucy my fellow
plasterer, drywaller, spark and plumber and to Dylan who is still ‘patiently’ waiting for the
kitchen to be finished. The skirting boards will be attached next week . . .
D. O’B.
Particular thanks on my behalf go to Ross Singleton for his longstanding friendship and our
many lengthy conversations about religion, philosophy and international politics. Linda Dai
has patiently coped with my tendency to introduce comments about Hume into a quite exces-
sive number of contexts, and her backing and encouragement have played a crucial role in
allowing me to complete my contribution to this volume. I also wish to thank my mother
Dorothy Bailey for her support during the writing and editing process.
A.B.

xii

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 DAVID HUME – A TIMELINE

1702 Death of William III and the accession of

Queen Anne
1704 Battle of Blenheim; Isaac Newton, Opticks
1707 Union of England and Scotland
1711 Hume born in Edinburgh
1712 Thomas Newcomen’s steam engine
1713 George Berkeley, Three Dialogues between Hume’s father dies
Hylas and Philonous; Anthony Collins,
Discourse of Free-Thinking
1714 Death of Queen Anne and the accession of
George I
Bernard Mandeville, Fable of the Bees
1715 Jacobite rebellion in Scotland; death of
Louis XIV; Louis XV becomes King of
France at the age of five
1718 Inoculation for smallpox introduced in
England
1720 Collapse of the South Sea Bubble; Edmond
Halley becomes Astronomer Royal at
Greenwich
1722 Robert Walpole becomes the equivalent of a Hume and his brother John enrol
modern British Prime Minister as students at the University of
Edinburgh
1725 Work starts on Grosvenor Square, London;
Francis Hutcheson, The Original of Our
Ideas of Beauty and Virtue
1726 Jonathan Swift, Gulliver’s Travels Hume begins a legal education

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 DAVID HUME – A TIMELINE

1727 Death of George I and the accession of

George II; Isaac Newton dies
Robert Greene, Principles of the Philosophy
of the Expansive and Contractive Forces
1728 John Gay, Beggar’s Opera
1729 Hume abandons the idea of
becoming a lawyer; his ‘new Scene
of Thought’
1733 Alexander Pope, Essay on Man
1734 Voltaire, Lettres philosophiques (Lettres Hume travels to London; takes
anglaises) up employment in Bristol as a
merchant’s clerk; resigns or is
dismissed; relocates to France and
works on the Treatise
1735 John Harrison’s chronometer; William Hume moves from Rheims to
Hogarth, Rake’s Progress La Flèche
1736 Joseph Butler, Analogy of Religion
1737 Returns from France to London
1739 Publication of Books One and Two
of A Treatise of Human Nature
1740 Start of the War of Austrian Succession; Book Three of the Treatise
Frederick II (Frederick the Great) becomes
King of Prussia
George Turnbull, Principles of Moral
Philosophy
1741 Samuel Richardson, Pamela Volume I of Essays, Moral and
Political published in Edinburgh
1742 Walpole falls from power; Handel’s
Messiah premieres in Dublin
1745 Second Jacobite rebellion; von Kleist Hume fails to secure the Chair of
discovers the ability of the Leyden jar to Ethics and Pneumatical Philosophy at
store electrical charge Edinburgh; becomes tutor in England
to the Marquess of Annandale
Hume’s mother dies
1746 Jacobite army is decisively defeated at Hume’s appointment as a tutor
Culloden comes to an acrimonious end
Hume becomes Secretary to
Lieutenant-General James St Clair;
accompanies St Clair on a military
expedition attacking the coast of
Brittany

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 DAVID HUME – A TIMELINE

1748 War of Austrian Succession concludes; Travels with St Clair on a

Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle diplomatic mission to Vienna and
Excavations begin at Pompeii; Turin
Montesquieu, L’Esprit des lois; La Mettrie, Publication of Philosophical Essays
L’Homme machine concerning Human Understanding
1749 Buffon, first volumes of Histoire naturelle; Returns to Scotland and resides
David Hartley, Observations on Man; with his brother and sister at the
Henry Fielding, Tom Jones family home in Ninewells
1751 Diderot and d’Alembert, Volume I of Hume moves to Edinburgh and is
L’Encyclopédie later joined by his sister Katherine
Adam Smith becomes Professor of Logic at Publication of An Enquiry
the University of Glasgow concerning the Principles of Morals
1752 Adoption in Britain of the Gregorian Hume is unsuccessful in his
calendar candidacy for a chair at the
University of Glasgow
Elected Librarian to the Faculty of
Advocates in Edinburgh
1753 British Museum founded
1754 Publication of Volume I of The
History of Great Britain
1755 Lisbon earthquake; Samuel Johnson,
Dictionary of the English Language
1756 Seven Years’ War
1757 Robert Clive and the East India Company Hume resigns from his post as
are victorious at the Battle of Plassey Librarian
Edmund Burke, A Philosophical Enquiry
1758 Philosophical Essays published
under the new name of An Enquiry
concerning Human Understanding
1759 Laurence Sterne, Tristram Shandy;
William Wilberforce is born
1761 The Bridgewater Canal opens from Worsley Madame de Boufflers’s initial letter
to Manchester to Hume
1762 Catherine II becomes Empress of Russia;
Sarah Scott’s novel of a female utopian
community, A Description of Millenium Hall
1763 Seven Years’ War concludes; Peace of Paris Hume accompanies Lord Hertford
Catherine Macaulay, first volume of her to Paris and takes on the duties of
History of England Secretary to the British Embassy
Hume and Madame de Boufflers
meet for the first time

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 DAVID HUME – A TIMELINE

1764 Thomas Reid, Inquiry into the Human

Mind; Horace Walpole, The Castle of
Otranto
Mozart’s Symphony No. 1 composed in
London during the family’s European tour
1765 Matthew Boulton finishes building the Soho Hume is officially confirmed as
Manufactory in Birmingham Secretary shortly before his post
comes to an end
1766 Immanuel Kant, Dreams of a Spirit-Seer Hume returns to London,
Elucidated by Dreams of Metaphysics accompanied by Jean-Jacques
Rousseau; Rousseau accuses Hume
of being part of a conspiracy
against him
A Concise and Genuine Account of
the Dispute between Mr. Hume and
Mr. Rousseau
Hume spends the final months
of the year in Ninewells and
Edinburgh
1767 James Craig’s plan for New Town, Travels to London to take up the
Edinburgh is adopted; Royal Crescent, office of Under-Secretary of State in
Bath, started the Northern Department
1768 James Cook’s first voyage to the Pacific Hume retires from public office
1769 Josiah Wedgwood and Thomas Bentley open Hume returns to Edinburgh
their Etruria factory near Stoke-on-Trent
James Watt’s steam engine, James
Hargreaves’ spinning jenny, and Richard
Arkwright’s water frame are patented
Arthur Wellesley, later Duke of Wellington,
is born in Dublin
1770 The future Louis XVI marries Marie Hume has a house built for himself
Antoinette; Baron d’Holbach, Système de la in Edinburgh’s New Town; rumours
nature reach Paris that Hume might be
about to marry Nancy Orde
1771 Tobias Smollet, Humphry Clinker Hume and his sister move into the
new house – St Andrew Square, off
St David Street
1773 Boston Tea Party
Hester Chapone, Letters on the
Improvement of the Mind; Oliver
Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer

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 DAVID HUME – A TIMELINE

1774 Death of Louis XV; Louis XVI becomes

King of France
Joseph Priestley discovers ‘dephlogisticated
air’ (oxygen)
1775 John Wilkinson’s cannon-boring machine; The ‘Advertisement’ repudiating the
Jane Austen born Treatise
1776 Declaration of American Independence Hume dies in Edinburgh
Edward Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the
Roman Empire; Adam Smith, The Wealth
of Nations; Thomas Paine, Common Sense;
Jeremy Bentham, Fragment on Government
1777 Publication of Life of David Hume,
written by Himself
1779 World’s first iron bridge is completed across Publication of the Dialogues
the River Severn at Coalbrookdale concerning Natural Religion
1782 Atheism openly avowed in print in Britain
for the first time – Matthew Turner, Answer
to Dr Priestley’s Letters to a Philosophical
Unbeliever
1783 Peace of Versailles establishes independence
of American colonies
1785 Edmund Cartwright patents his power loom
1787 Founding in Britain of the Committee for
the Abolition of the African Slave Trade
1789 French Revolution

xvii

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9780826443595_Prelims_Final_txt_print.indd xviii 2/9/2012 9:38:09 PM
 INTRODUCTION

In 2005 the British Broadcasting Corporation metaphysics and epistemology. There is, in
ran a poll asking Radio Four listeners to say fact, an overwhelming case for saying that
whom they regarded as the greatest philoso- no other eighteenth-century writer’s account
pher of all time. Such familiar philosophical of English history came close to matching the
luminaries as Plato, Aristotle, Descartes and intellectual quality and non-partisan nature
Kant all featured prominently in the subse- of Hume’s own narrative, and in this particu-
quent voting, and Marx’s immense influence lar case those genuine merits were, for once,
within the political arena saw him, rather rewarded by the approbation of substantial
predictably, taking first place. However, the sections of the public.
pre-eminent British philosopher, and the Hume’s current reputation is, therefore,
philosopher with the second highest overall something that stands in need of explana-
number of votes, was David Hume. tion. How has an eighteenth-century Scottish
In his own lifetime Hume certainly pos- intellectual and writer who enjoyed his great-
sessed a substantial reputation as a public est success amongst his contemporaries as a
intellectual. In some respects, though, it would historian, economist and writer of polite
be more appropriate to talk in terms of his essays arrived at the status and, in the eyes
notoriety rather than his reputation. His sup- of the editors of this volume, the wholly
posedly sceptical epistemological views and deserved status of being viewed as the great-
the manner in which his writings seemed to est British philosopher?
develop a series of pointed criticisms of reli- In many respects the answer lies in the
gious belief attracted vituperative criticism very features of his philosophical writings
from many of his contemporaries. It is also that saw them subjected to so much criticism
a striking fact that much of his fame sprang when Hume was alive. Epistemological scep-
from his ostensibly non-philosophical writ- ticism, even of a radical variety, is no longer
ings. Until his death in 1776 Hume enjoyed a seen as constituting any kind of threat to
great deal of influence as a writer on matters morality and social order; so it is now pos-
of economics. Moreover, sales of his History sible to respond to the sceptical arguments
of England made him independently wealthy deployed within Hume’s writings as provid-
and brought him to the attention of far more ing us with a series of fascinating puzzles that
readers than were interested in works of may succeed in pointing us towards important

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 INTRODUCTION

truths about the nature of philosophy or the these staples of theistic apologetics. Just as
incoherence of certain aspects of our self- significantly, however, Hume’s evident will-
conception as inquirers and agents without ingness to question religious dogma at a
those arguments constituting instruments of time when the social and cultural pressure
intellectual self-annihilation. Moreover, once towards internalizing such beliefs was so
this fear of sceptical conclusions has been strong marks him out as a person who was
dissipated, it becomes psychologically easier prepared to be guided by argument and the
to acknowledge the inadequacy of so many available evidence instead of suppressing
of the standard supposed refutations of scep- his critical faculties at the behest of super-
tical arguments. Hume’s own recognition of stition and the power-structures of religious
the power of these arguments accordingly authority. In this respect, Hume amply meets
comes to be seen as compelling evidence of the essential requirement that a true philoso-
his own intellectual integrity and powers of pher, a philosopher of genuine integrity, must
analysis. answer only to the autonomous demands of
This issue of intellectual integrity also has the reflective intellect.
a bearing on present-day reactions to Hume’s It also seems to be the case that once
criticisms of religion. Britain in the eighteenth Hume’s epistemological and irreligious views
century was an overwhelmingly Christian are no longer predominantly seen as views
country, where overt expressions of disbelief that need to be repudiated as aggressively
could still attract substantial prison sentences as possible, other valuable aspects of his
and books regarded as attacking Christianity philosophical outlook become increasingly
were frequently subjected to determined easy to recognize. Given the disappointing
campaigns of suppression. Today, in contrast, results of attempts at a priori metaphysics,
there is substantial evidence that between 30 Hume’s denunciations of the application
and 40 per cent of the British population do of a priori reasoning outside the sphere of
not believe in God or any Higher Power anal- issues of ‘quantity and number’ (EHU 12.27
ogous to a person. And although the United / 163) seem amply vindicated by the histori-
States signally lags behind almost all Western cal record. Thus philosophical inquiry needs
European states in this regard, agnosticism an alternative methodology if it is not simply
and atheism are making some inroads even to repeat past errors in ever more complex
in that hitherto hostile environment. There forms. And Hume’s ‘experimental’ method,
is, accordingly, a far more receptive audi- with its commitment to being guided by
ence in the current climate for arguments experience, seems to meet this need.
challenging the metaphysical underpinnings There might perhaps be some worries that
of a religious world-view and the compla- this approach actually amounts to a simple
cent supposition that religious convictions repudiation of philosophy in favour of the
constitute crucial support for moral behav- investigative methods of the sciences. In
iour and an appreciation of the value of life. Hume’s hands, however, it constitutes not an
Hume’s writings provide such arguments in abandonment of philosophy but a confirma-
abundance, and his critiques of the argument tion that at least some philosophical conun-
to design and the credibility of testimony to drums can be satisfactorily dissolved by
alleged miracles still constitute some of the paying due attention to the empirical facts.
most trenchant attacks ever launched on Confronted, for example, by the question

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 INTRODUCTION

‘What obligation do we have to obey this or whist, to avoid challenging him to any card
indeed any government?’, we might initially games involving large sums of money. In a
be at a loss to know how to proceed. Science, sense, of course, Hume’s personal virtues do
we have been repeatedly told, cannot answer not add to the importance of his intellec-
normative questions. Conceptual analysis, tual achievements. But they do confirm one
it is tempting to suppose, can at best clarify important thing, namely that the philosophi-
the sense of the question, and a priori rea- cal outlook embraced by Hume is one that is
soning of a non-mathematical kind cannot entirely compatible with a flourishing human
be relied upon to yield anything more sub- life that combines generous concern for the
stantial than vacuous tautologies. Hume’s well-being of other people with ample enjoy-
account of human nature, in contrast, allows ment of a full range of social and intellectual
us to see this question as an idle one. There satisfactions.
may indeed be scope for choosing which This combination of the power of Hume’s
government to follow. But our psychologi- thought and the engaging quality of his per-
cal properties mean that some institutions sonality has undoubtedly helped in bringing
of government will inevitably arise in all cir- together the contributors to this volume. As
cumstances that are ever likely to persist for editors, we were repeatedly pleasantly sur-
a significant length of time. Moreover, once prised by the enthusiasm expressed for this
these institutions have arisen, their success in project by potential contributors, and we
securing high levels of obedience is equally hope that the finished anthology succeeds
inevitable irrespective of our normative both in illuminating Hume’s own achieve-
speculations. ments and in suitably showcasing the com-
It would be remiss, however, of any mitment to Humean scholarship manifested
account of Hume’s well-merited appeal to by all the authors represented in the follow-
present-day philosophers and anyone inter- ing pages.
ested in understanding the place of human Emilio Mazza opens the volume by draw-
beings in the world to ignore the question ing us into Hume’s world, one far from the
of Hume’s personal character. Although this ivory tower – a world of business, military
has frequently been traduced by defend- expeditions, international diplomacy and
ers of religion and people who mistakenly Parisian ladies. But Le Bon David always
suppose that seriousness of purpose must sought refuge from this heady world in
be evidenced by tortuous writing, pompous work, in friendships and in his pursuit of
pretentiousness and a complete absence of literary fame, his ‘ruling passion’. His aca-
humour, it is clear from the record of Hume’s demic legacy and fame, however, are perhaps
life that he was a benevolent man of ami- rather fortunate given that he would have
able temperament, a good and loyal friend, been happy to stay at home in the borders
and a master of comic self-deprecation and of Scotland, if his brother had not married,
subtle word-play. If one were planning a fan- or to join the army if he had discovered its
tasy dinner party, it is difficult to imagine pleasures and camaraderie at a younger age.
any philosopher in history who would make Mazza’s evocative biography illuminates
a more winning and entertaining guest or a a life of travel and friendships with a por-
more congenial host, though it would prob- trait of a cheery, avuncular man toddling
ably be advisable, given his reported skill at around Edinburgh, being dragged out of a

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 INTRODUCTION

bog, saving a man from execution after that is the source of the vivacity of our experi-
man’s unsuccessful attempt to commit sui- ence, of its intentional content, and of the
cide in Paris, and having deep and sometimes believability of our ideas. This account is
stormy relationships with the literati of his contrasted with Descartes’s theory of ideas
day including, amongst many others, Adam and with interpreters of Hume who see him
Smith, Rousseau, d’Alembert and Lawrence as a proto-logical positivist.
Sterne. We come away with the impression Peter Millican turns to Hume’s account
that Hume had a good life – one with much of inductive reasoning and his ‘famous argu-
friendship, fame and fortune – and if one can ment’ to the conclusion that we have no
ever say this, Hume also had a good death. warrant for our beliefs about unobserved
To the end he was in good spirits, reading his matters of fact. Millican spells out the steps
beloved classics, and revising his Dialogues of Hume’s argument as articulated in the
concerning Natural Religion. Treatise, the Abstract and the first Enquiry.
Tom Seppalainen and Angela Coventry All beliefs concerning matters of fact are
take a ‘fresh look’ at Hume’s theory of ideas grounded in causal reasoning but, Hume
and impressions. The notion of liveliness or argues, knowledge of causal relations can-
vivacity that distinguishes mere ideas from not be acquired a priori, nor can it be gained
beliefs – beliefs being vivid ideas – is usu- via inductive reasoning. In place of such sup-
ally taken to be a phenomenological one port Hume provides an account of belief
and various interpretations of the nature of grounded in custom or habit. However con-
vivacity are considered. It has been charac- vincing Hume’s arguments may be, there is
terized in terms of qualitative feel although undoubted tension between his seemingly
Seppalainen and Coventry argue that think- sceptical conclusions and his embrace of
ing of perceptions in this way ignores their inductive science, his ‘experimental’ approach
intentional content and the way perceptions to the study of human nature, and his empiri-
seem to be of the world. An improvement, cal approach to history. Some interpreters of
then, is to read the phenomenology of per- Hume take him just to be concerned with a
ception not in terms akin to those describ- psychological description of thinkers and not
ing the intensity of colour in a picture, but with issues concerning justification and war-
in terms of ‘presentedness’ (or, according rant. Millican, however, argues that Hume
to another intentional reading of Hume, in is interested in normative questions; it is
terms of verisimilitude and the feeling of important to be clear, though, on the target
reality). Experience presents the world to of Hume’s scepticism – and that is Locke’s
one. Seppalainen and Coventry applaud conception of reason, what Millican calls his
such intentional readings, but they argue perceptual model. Such scepticism, however,
that Hume does not use vivacity to refer to does not engender what has come to be called
the phenomenological qualities of individual ‘The problem of induction’. The purpose of
perceptions, but rather to sequences of ideas Hume’s form of ‘mitigated’ scepticism is not,
and impressions. Only patterns of change as with Descartes, to prompt us to discover
can be vivid in the requisite sense. Our very a sure path to certain knowledge, but rather
notion of the existence of the external world to instil in us a suitable level of modesty and
depends on the constant and coherent flux caution concerning our epistemic practices.
of our perceptions and, they argue, such flux Furthermore, Hume’s naturalistic account

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 INTRODUCTION

provides an explanation of how human the usually apparent regularity of nature.

beings can – and actually do – reason induc- And Hume’s account of the vivacity of belief
tively and this, given the impossibility of any can show how the strength of our beliefs
rational foundations for such reasoning, pro- depends on the uniformity of our experience.
vides us with all the support we require for This account does not depend on a mathem-
our causal inferences. atical calculation of probabilities, but rather
Lorne Falkenstein further explores Hume’s on associationist psychological processes of
account of causal reasoning and the ‘system’ vivacity transfer. Falkenstein concludes by
of the Treatise. It is constant conjunctions showing how Hume takes his scepticism as
in experience that impel the imagination to supporting his ‘system’ and his account of
form beliefs concerning causes and effects. empirical reasoning.
Habits of thought guide our reasoning and Helen Beebee heads into stormy water –
not rational argument or judgement. As dis- into Hume’s account of causation, a hotly
cussed by Coventry and Seppalainen, beliefs debated topic: the so-called New Hume
are seen as vivacious ideas, and Falkenstein Debate focusing on the question of whether
stresses that Hume does not think of vivacity Hume takes there to be real causal powers
in terms of the intensity of an image. Beliefs, in nature – oomphs pushing billiard balls
rather, amount to dispositions of the mind around tables – or whether he thinks that
(for example, to incline one to act in certain there are really only constant conjunctions
ways and to focus one’s attention). Beliefs, and regular brute patterns in the world.
then, are the product of the principle of asso- Beebee investigates this question, concentrat-
ciation of causation, although Falkenstein ing on three claims to which Hume seems to
also suggests how Hume might have included be committed. First, Hume suggests that we
the relations of contiguity and resemblance project causal connections onto the world,
in his account of reasoning. connections that are not really there. Second,
If, however, belief formation is just a mat- the concept of causation includes the notion
ter of habit, how can it be so that some ways of necessity. We think of causal connections as
of forming beliefs are seen as better than oth- those that are necessarily connected together:
ers? Hume suggests that we follow certain the red ball must move off in that direction
general rules, those that are learnt from past given that it was struck in that way by the
experience, such as, like objects in like cir- white ball. And third, causal talk is objective
cumstances will have like effects. Particular in that we can talk correctly of causes and
inferences we make can be assessed against we can sometimes make false causal claims
such general rules. This is Hume’s logic of about the world. These commitments seem
causal inference. to be inconsistent since it is not obvious how
Such rules can also be extended to cover causal talk can be objective when Hume does
probable reasoning. It is not the case that we not think that there are really causal connec-
have uniform experience, but this does not tions in nature and that they are projections
lead to us rejecting such general rules. Instead, of our cognitive processes. Beebee discusses
in cases where like causes do not seem to lead various ways to resolve this (perhaps only
to like effects we come to believe – again via apparent) inconsistency. The traditional
habit grounded in past experience – that interpretation of Hume claims that causation
there is some hidden cause that is disrupting is just constant conjunction. The sceptical

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 INTRODUCTION

realist, in contrast, sees Hume as accepting radical position than mere fallibilism. In
that there are causal powers in nature; it Bailey’s judgement, this scepticism is better
is just that we cannot come to have know- interpreted as a stance that does not endorse
ledge of them. The projectivist interpretation any beliefs as possessing a positive degree
adopts a non-cognitivist stance: our claims of epistemic justification except for beliefs
concerning causal relations are subject to about very simple necessary truths that can
norms, but these norms are constituted not be grasped without going through any proc-
by features of the world independent of our ess of inference and beliefs about the content
judgements concerning its causal structure – of our present ideas and impressions.
by real causal powers in nature – but by It is clear, however, that if such scepticism
certain ‘rules’ which we have come to appre- is an integral component of Hume’s thought,
ciate concerning how we judge of causes and then it co-exists with Hume’s assent to a
effects, rules that enable us to override errant detailed and carefully constructed account
judgements in particular cases. of human nature that is supposed to be both
A clue to the correct interpretation can be true and useful. Even a moment’s reflection
found in Beebee’s claim that Hume is driven on the Treatise’s subtitle, which is Being
by his opposition to the Cartesian Image of an Attempt to Introduce the Experimental
God Hypothesis. There are two aspects to this Method of Reasoning into Moral Subjects,
hypothesis: we are, as the Bible says, made indicates that it would be a disastrous mis-
in God’s image, and we have epistemic abil- reading of Hume’s views to construe him as
ities in line with such an origin. The nature simply a destructive sceptic.
of reality is accessible to human reason – we Bailey’s solution to this interpretative con-
can come, through a priori reasoning, to undrum is to claim that Hume views radic-
have knowledge of the world and specifically ally epistemological scepticism and properly
of its causal structure. Beebee notes certain conducted empirical inquiries as mutually
aspects of this picture in the sceptical realist supportive. Hume thinks that sceptical
approach and thus argues that this cannot be arguments are indeed successful in placing
the correct interpretation of Hume. Of the us in a position where only our acceptance
remaining options, Beebee favours projectiv- of the view that scarcely any of our beliefs
ism over the traditional interpretation. are rationally justified can allow us to deny,
Alan Bailey then undertakes an examina- without being guilty of bad faith, that such
tion of the equally vexed issue of the pros- sceptical arguments provide rationally com-
pects for providing a unified account of pelling grounds for that assessment of our
Hume’s philosophical outlook that satisfac- beliefs. However, Bailey argues that Hume
torily accommodates both his ambitions to does not see this as posing any threat to the
construct a science of human nature and the ability of our belief-forming mechanisms
sceptical elements of his thought. If Hume’s to generate and sustain in existence all the
putative scepticism actually amounted to beliefs we need to guide our actions. Nor
nothing more than a modest epistemologi- indeed does Hume view it as undermining
cal fallibilism, as some recent commentators our capacity to assent to relatively sophisti-
have supposed, there would be no real ten- cated scientific theories. Where such theor-
sion to overcome here. Bailey argues, how- ies are constructed using systematized and
ever, that Hume’s scepticism is a much more reflective versions of common sense methods

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 INTRODUCTION

of inquiry and are accordingly supported by that is, that the soul or mind is a substance,
experience and experiment, sceptical discov- be it physical or non-physical.
eries are incapable of preventing us from All we can do is provide an account of
giving our assent. And where those theories what causes us to have the mistaken belief
are not supported by experience and experi- that there are enduring selves. Such an
ment, Hume can, as an empiricist, rejoice account includes certain identity-ascribing
in their destruction. Thus Bailey holds that mechanisms of the imagination – those
Hume sees scepticism and the proper experi- grounded in the principles of association of
mental method of inquiry working in tan- resemblance and causation – mechanisms
dem. Sceptical arguments curb the power of that generate belief in the self as well as in
the imagination to generate beliefs that are the continued existence of the external world
not the products of the observed correla- and of bodies.
tions that give rise to causal inferences. And Hume, however, is dissatisfied with his
the experience-based beliefs towards which conclusion. He thinks that he is committed
we accordingly gravitate generate a plaus- to two inconsistent principles: that distinct
ible picture of the workings of the human perceptions are distinct existences, and that
mind that makes it even more difficult for the mind never perceives any connection
us to represent ourselves as capable of arriv- between them. Perplexingly, however, these
ing at many beliefs that genuinely qualify as principles are not inconsistent, and uncover-
rationally justified. ing why Hume claims them to be so is a key
Harold Noonan and Galen Strawson both difficulty for interpreters of Hume’s views
explore what Hume calls the labyrinth of on the soul and the self. Noonan suggests
personal identity. Noonan considers various that Hume realizes that his account does
arguments in Hume against the Cartesian not explain our continuing belief in personal
conception of personal identity, against, that identity. One can accept Hume’s empiricist
is, the existence of an enduring self, identi- conclusions with respect to the external
cal from moment to moment and from day world and give up the notion that there is a
to day. Hume’s empiricism demands that we substance or substrata underlying the prop-
have an impression of such an entity, but this erties of bodies, but we cannot accept this
we do not have – all we find, on introspec- with respect to the self. Why not? Hume did
tion, is a bundle of variously related percep- not know.
tions. Hume’s ‘master-argument’ establishes Galen Strawson has a distinct account of
that all perceptions are logically capable of why Hume’s ‘hopes vanish’. Hume discov-
an independent existence. There is thus no ers – late in the day, in the Appendix to the
need for the ‘unintelligible chimera of sub- Treatise – that his whole empiricist philoso-
stance’ (THN 1.4.3.7 / 222) in which prop- phy depends on a conception of the mind
erties must inhere. This is so for physical that his empiricism does not allow him to
things, such as wax – contra Descartes, wax have. His genetic account of our belief in
for Hume is just a collection of properties – an enduring self relies on the principles of
and for human beings: we do not require an association – it relies on the assumption that
enduring soul underlying our ever-changing we have a ‘Principle-Governed Mind’. This
properties. Hume thus criticizes a suppos- explains our belief in the self as well as our
ition of both materialists and immaterialists, belief in the external world and in causation.

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 INTRODUCTION

But such a conception of the mind goes Sandis also turns to interpretations of
beyond a loose association of distinct percep- Hume’s famous claim that ‘[r]eason is, and
tions. In order to legitimately ground one’s ought only to be the slave of the passions’
philosophy in such an account of the mind it (THN 2.2.3.4 / 414) and argues that the
is required either that there is an observable received Humean theory of motivation is
real connection between the perceptions that unfounded. This is the view that an agent
make up the mind or grounds for claiming cannot be motivated by belief alone, but
that such perceptions inhere in some kind of only by a belief along with an appropri-
soul-substance. But Hume has argued against ately related desire. Sandis claims, though,
both possibilities. that such an account is not to be found in
A possible response here is to take Hume Hume. It is also suggested that Hume does
as sheltering in his scepticism: the essence not equate belief and opinions with judge-
of the mind is unknowable to us and thus it ment. Ideas and beliefs are distinguished by
cannot be this – the lack of knowledge of the their vivacity, and the vivacity of judgements
Principle-Governed Mind – that leads him to should be seen as lying somewhere between
despair. But, Strawson argues, such agnosti- that of ideas and beliefs. This is relevant to
cism cannot do the trick. Hume does need Hume’s account of morality: Hume does not
to, and does, assume a certain notion of the talk of moral judgements but, on Sandis’s
mind – a rule-governed one. He can perhaps account, this still allows Hume to have an
remain agnostic about just how it works, but account of moral beliefs and of their motiv-
he cannot be agnostic about its very exist- ational force.
ence – and its very existence is what is incom- James Harris turns to liberty and neces-
patible with Hume’s empiricism. Strawson sity, and to what Hume calls ‘the most con-
claims that Hume’s despair is a result of his tentious question of metaphysics, the most
acknowledgment of this deep inconsistency contentious science’ (EHU 8.23 / 95). Hume
in his philosophy. is often thought to be an advocate of an early
Constantine Sandis explores Hume’s version of what is now called compatibilism,
account of action and in so doing considers and it has been claimed that there is noth-
how reason, the will and the passions are ing distinctive about his position. Locke and
related. Hume’s account of action is an empir- Hobbes had also discussed this question and
ical one: we acquire knowledge of a person’s suggested compatibilist answers. Harris,
reasons for acting from careful observation however, argues that Hume is not just rehash-
of human behaviour. This ‘science of man’ ing their arguments.
grounds Hume’s History of England and Importantly, it is claimed, Hume is not a
the study of this work highlights how Hume determinist in the modern sense, unlike, for
sees character as playing a key motivating example, Hobbes. Determinism is a meta-
role in our behaviour. Further, the historian physical stance and Hume eschews metaphys-
is best placed to uncover the truth about ical questions. His claim is not that we have
human nature since he does not aspire to the reason to think that the laws of nature cannot
detached perspective of the philosopher, nor change – that they are determined; everyday
is he too close to his subjects and thus prone experience, rather, leads us to expect that
to bias or the distorting influence of his par- people behave in regular ways and we inter-
ticular interests and circumstances. act with them in light of these regularities.

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 INTRODUCTION

Harris also notes various changes in the extent to which he and other irreligious
emphasis between the Treatise discussion of thinkers of his time were forced to engage
this topic and that of the Enquiry. In the latter, in misdirection and linguistic contortions in
Hume more squarely targets metaphysicians. order to avoid social ostracism and the offi-
Once we clarify the nature of liberty and cial suppression of their writings. The authors
necessity, long-running metaphysical and, in of the three chapters in this anthology that
particular, religious disputes concerning God’s focus primarily on Hume and religion are
prescience and responsibility for evil will be therefore unanimous in presenting him as
undermined. Philosophy should ‘return, with a rigorous and intellectually honest thinker
suitable modesty, to her true and proper prov- who deploys a formidable set of arguments
ince, the examination of common life’ (EHU against any form of religious outlook based
8.36 / 103). Hume’s discussion of liberty and on the truth of theism or even a robust form
necessity is not a case of Hume engaging in of deism.
metaphysical debate, the question then arising Duncan Pritchard and Alasdair Richmond
of whether his contribution is original or not – investigate Hume’s notorious arguments on
he is, rather, agnostic about all such issues, his the topic of the credibility of testimony con-
discussion reflecting his empiricist attitude to cerning miracles. They are careful to locate
questions concerning the regularity of human these arguments within the broader frame-
behaviour and morality. work of Hume’s reservations about our abil-
At this point the contributors turn to the ity to justify expectations about the future
subject of Hume’s views on the truth and in a rational, non-circular manner and his
utility of religious beliefs. In his own era he pragmatic response to those sceptical wor-
was interpreted as attacking Christianity and ries. Although causal reasoning cannot be
all forms of theistic belief. However, his argu- supplied with a non-circular argumenta-
ments were frequently dismissed as incon- tive defence, it remains the case that human
sequential sophistries motivated not by a beings find such reasoning persuasive and
concern for the truth but by a desire to secure continue to use it, even after exposure to
personal notoriety and increase the sales of sceptical arguments, as a touchstone for
his books. Such an assessment of the force of assessing whether particular beliefs are ones
his arguments and his motivation for advan- they are content to endorse or ones that are
cing them is now wholly discredited. Yet the no more than mere foolishness. Consequently
recognition that he wrote on this particular Pritchard and Richmond construe Hume as
topic in good faith and with a commitment attempting to show that no testimony about
to seeking the truth and promoting human the occurrence of miraculous events capable
well-being has led some present-day com- of serving as the foundations of a system of
mentators to suggest that he was actually a religion has ever met the standards of dox-
defender of some philosophically purified astic acceptability that normally prevail in
form of theism that might even be compat- less contentious cases when we are weigh-
ible with the truth of Christianity. Such an ing human testimony concerning an alleged
interpretation seems to be based on nothing event against the implications of our obser-
more substantial than his invariable cour- vations of past natural regularities.
tesy when debating matters of religion and Pritchard and Richmond reject the suppo-
an almost inexcusable failure to recognize sition that any form of a priori conceptual

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 INTRODUCTION

argument forms part of Hume’s case against as confirmation of the truth of religious doc-
belief in miracles, and they also maintain trines or teachings.
that it is a mistake to construe him as arguing If Hume is right to maintain that reports
that the kind of regularity in experience that of alleged miracles fail to offer any genuine
would need to be interrupted in order for an support for the bold claims advanced by
event to qualify as a plausible candidate for religions about the ultimate nature of real-
being a miracle would be so well entrenched ity, where might such support be found?
and confirmed that no possible amount of Hume’s religious contemporaries placed
human testimony could render it appropriate great confidence in the probative value of
to believe that an interruption had occurred. the design argument, and Hume undertook
They emphasize that for Hume it is always a detailed examination of this argument in
a contingent matter whether the testimony his Dialogues concerning Natural Religion,
offered is weighty enough to overcome the which were published posthumously in
initial presumption that a hitherto well-con- 1779.
firmed natural regularity with no previously Andrew Pyle accordingly presents in his
known exceptions has not abruptly come to chapter an overview of the complex discus-
an end. Nevertheless the standards of dox- sion that occurs between Hume’s principal
astic acceptability we embrace in practical characters in the Dialogues, and he arrives at
contexts when we are making judgements the conclusion that this work was intended
in a careful and reflective manner are such to show that the design argument cannot
that this testimony needs to overcome an legitimately support theistic conclusions and
exceptionally high hurdle. Unless the plau- that a naturalistic explanation of the orderly
sibility that this testimony is mistaken or nature of the universe is, when judged by
deliberately deceitful is even lower than the everyday standards of good causal reason-
extremely low plausibility that attaches to ing, more acceptable than a theistic one. An
the supposition that a pervasive and well- interpretation of the Dialogues along these
tested regularity that has previously mani- lines might initially be thought to overlook
fested itself throughout all human history Hume’s repeated suggestions that our intel-
has been breached at a particular time and lectual faculties are wholly inadequate when
place, it is not appropriate for us to accept confronted by the task of arriving at satisfac-
that this testimony is correct. And although tory conclusions about such rarefied matters
testimony of this quality is at least conceiv- of inquiry. Those pronouncements appear to
able, Pritchard and Richmond hold that give very strong support to the conclusion
even when we assess Hume’s arguments that Hume holds that the only legitimate
from the perspective of Bayesian reasoning response to questions about the ultimate ori-
or the non-reductionist view that testimony gins of the universe is a stance of complete
can possess some independent credibility neutrality and suspension of judgement.
that does not ultimately derive from non- However, Pyle draws an important distinc-
testimonial sources, it is apparent that Hume tion between a commitment to a particular
manages to present a strong case for the hypothesis as more probable than all com-
conclusion that such exemplary testimony peting hypotheses with equivalently detailed
has never yet been forthcoming in the case content and a comparative judgement that
of any allegedly miraculous event presented a particular hypothesis is more likely to be

10

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