Hume's Morality

Hume's Morality
Author: Rachel Cohon
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 296
Release: 2008-10-02
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0199268444

Rachel Cohon offers an original interpretation of the ethical thinking of the 18th-century philosopher David Hume. She focuses on two claims: that human beings figure out what is good or evil by using our feelings or emotions, and that some of the good traits we recognize are produced by informal social agreement and teaching.

Hume, Reason and Morality

Hume, Reason and Morality
Author: Sophie Botros
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 296
Release: 2006-04-18
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1134322178

Covering an important theme in Humean studies, this book focuses on Hume's hugely influential attempt in book three of his Treatise of Human Nature to derive the conclusion that morality is a matter of feeling, not reason, from its link with action. Claiming that Hume's argument contains a fundamental contradiction that has gone unnoticed in modern debate, this fascinating volume contains a refreshing combination of historical-scholarly work and contemporary analysis that seeks to expose this contradiction and therefore provide a significant contribution to current scholarship in the area. Sophie Botros begins by pointing out that a contradiction concerning whether reason can influence action, or is wholly powerless, occurs in the intermediary premiss. She then moves on to draw out the consequences for recent meta-ethics of the failure to acknowledge this contradiction. Finally, highlighting the root of the argument's power in an article of naturalistic dogma, she suggests how it may be possible to restore to our moral concepts their traditional and integral link with both truth and motivation. A significant and thought-provoking addition to this popular field of study, Hume, Reason and Morality is undoubtedly an important resource for moral philosophers interested in meta-ethics and practical reason, as well as Humean scholars.

Routledge Philosophy GuideBook to Hume on Morality

Routledge Philosophy GuideBook to Hume on Morality
Author: James Baillie
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2006-04-19
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1134678894

David Hume is widely recognised as the greatest philosopher to have written in the English language. His Treatise on Human Nature is one of the most important works of moral philosophy ever written. Hume on Morality introduces and assesses * Hume's life and the background of the Treatise * The ideas and text in the Treatise * Hume's continuing importance to philosophy

Toward a Humean True Religion

Toward a Humean True Religion
Author: Andre C. Willis
Publisher: Penn State Press
Total Pages: 262
Release: 2015-06-19
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0271065788

David Hume is traditionally seen as a devastating critic of religion. He is widely read as an infidel, a critic of the Christian faith, and an attacker of popular forms of worship. His reputation as irreligious is well forged among his readers, and his argument against miracles sits at the heart of the narrative overview of his work that perennially indoctrinates thousands of first-year philosophy students. In Toward a Humean True Religion, Andre Willis succeeds in complicating Hume’s split approach to religion, showing that Hume was not, in fact, dogmatically against religion in all times and places. Hume occupied a “watershed moment,” Willis contends, when old ideas of religion were being replaced by the modern idea of religion as a set of epistemically true but speculative claims. Thus, Willis repositions the relative weight of Hume’s antireligious sentiment, giving significance to the role of both historical and discursive forces instead of simply relying on Hume’s personal animus as its driving force. Willis muses about what a Humean “true religion” might look like and suggests that we think of this as a third way between the classical and modern notions of religion. He argues that the cumulative achievements of Hume’s mild philosophic theism, the aim of his moral rationalism, and the conclusion of his project on the passions provide the best content for this “true religion.”

Hume's Moral Theory

Hume's Moral Theory
Author: J.L. Mackie
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 173
Release: 2003-09-02
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1134848099

First Published in 1980. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Hume’s Moral Philosophy and Contemporary Psychology

Hume’s Moral Philosophy and Contemporary Psychology
Author: Philip A. Reed
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 386
Release: 2018-06-27
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1351720511

Recent work at the intersection of moral philosophy and the philosophy of psychology has dealt mostly with Aristotelian virtue ethics. The dearth of scholarship that engages with Hume’s moral philosophy, however, is both noticeable and peculiar. Hume's Moral Philosophy and Contemporary Psychology demonstrates how Hume’s moral philosophy comports with recent work from the empirical sciences and moral psychology. It shows how contemporary work in virtue ethics has much stronger similarities to the metaphysically thin conception of human nature that Hume developed, rather than the metaphysically thick conception of human nature that Aristotle espoused. It also reveals how contemporary work in moral motivation and moral epistemology has strong affinities with themes in Hume’s sympathetic sentimentalism.

Mind and Morality

Mind and Morality
Author: John Bricke
Publisher: Clarendon Press
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2000
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9780198250111

"This work is essential for the philosophical assessment of Hume's contributions to our understanding of what moral agency is....It is written in a manner that is constantly sensitive to the philosophical perplexities that lie in wai for each position that the author, and Hume, considers, and it demonstrates, if anyone still needs this, just how resourceful Hume's moral theory is, even when judged in the light of our contemporary debates."--Ethics

Hume: Moral Philosophy

Hume: Moral Philosophy
Author: David Hume
Publisher: Hackett Publishing
Total Pages: 448
Release: 2006-12-26
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1603840125

A genuine understanding of Hume's extraordinarily rich, important, and influential moral philosophy requires familiarity with all of his writings on vice and virtue, the passions, the will, and even judgments of beauty--and that means familiarity not only with large portions of A Treatise of Human Nature, but also with An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals and many of his essays as well. This volume is the one truly comprehensive collection of Hume's work on all of these topics. Geoffrey Sayre-McCord, a leading moral philosopher and Hume scholar, has done a meticulous job of editing the texts and has provided an extensive Introduction that is at once accessible, accurate, and philosophically engaging, revealing the deep structure of Hume's moral philosophy. --Don Garrett, New York University

The Virtue Ethics of Hume and Nietzsche

The Virtue Ethics of Hume and Nietzsche
Author: Christine Swanton
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 245
Release: 2015-05-06
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1118939395

This ground-breaking and lucid contribution to the vibrant field of virtue ethics focuses on the influential work of Hume and Nietzsche, providing fresh perspectives on their philosophies and a compelling account of their impact on the development of virtue ethics. A ground-breaking text that moves the field of virtue ethics beyond ancient moral theorists and examines the highly influential ethical work of Hume and Nietzsche from a virtue ethics perspective Contributes both to virtue ethics and a refreshed understanding of Hume’s and Nietzsche’s ethics Skilfully bridges the gap between continental and analytical philosophy Lucidly written and clearly organized, allowing students to focus on either Hume or Nietzsche Written by one of the most important figures contributing to virtue ethics today