DAVID HUME and His Influence on Philosophy and Theology
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
Creating a Best-Seller
LOGOS Creating a Best-Seller Adventures with a Dictionary* Charles McGregor The commonest association with “best-seller” is “fi ction”. That has been so for centuries. Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress – fi rst published in 1678 and in its twenty-fi fth edition by 1738; Defoe’sRobinson Cru- soe – issued in 1719 and in its seventh edition by 1726; Scott’s Waverley – out in 1814, its rapid sale of 12,000 considered remarkable (Leavis, pp. 331 and 333); Harry Potter now – J.K. Rowling’s Foundation Charles McGregor specialises in educational and in- was set up with income from Harry’s saga. These formational publishing. He has been a director of the are the iconic best-sellers of their times. Longman ELT division, now in Pearson Education But history titles have also been best-sellers. and so part of the media group Pearson, and editorial When the last volume of David Hume’s History director of Evans Brothers (Nigeria Publishers). As a of England appeared in 1762, he wrote: “Notwith- consultant, he has worked on World Bank education standing the variety of events and seasons to which projects in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, my writings had been exposed, they had still been and for the European Commission and the Malaysian making such advances that the copy money given Publishers Association, and he has directed a post- me by the booksellers much exceeded anything graduate course on publishing at the University of the formerly known in England. I was become not only Arts London. His current projects include a diction- independent but opulent” (Mumby, p. -
Mary Shepherd and the Causal Relation
Mary Shepherd and the Causal Relation The 3rd Earl of Rosebery with his family outside of Barnbougle Castle. Painted by Alexander Nasmyth in 1788. Mary Primrose is second from the right. Jennifer McRobert © 2002 Jennifer McRobert (revised February 2014) Author’s note: This manuscript was written a dozen years ago and then set aside. In February 2014, the text was lightly edited to eliminate some typos and to improve readability. There is no new research here, but the material may be of use to historians and others interested in early modern women philosophers. Contents Preface 5 Part One 7 1 God and the King: The Primrose Ancestry 8 2 A Childhood in Dalmeny 18 3 Hume and the Limits of Moderation 32 4 London, Marriage and Society 44 5 Causality and the Revolutionary Lens 54 Bibliography 66 Preface Lady Mary Shepherd (1777-1847) was born Mary Primrose, on 31 December 1777. The daughter of an Earl, she grew up on an estate near Edinburgh during the Scottish Enlightenment. Mary Shepherd's life and work were shaped in important ways by the philosophical and political controversies that arose in connection with David Hume and his philosophy. In particular, she was strongly motivated to refute the `erroneous notions’ of cause and effect advanced by Hume and his followers, which she viewed as leading to scepticism and atheism: When she undertook a public refutation of these erroneous notions of cause and effect, it must be remembered it was at a time when they were most rampant and widely spread over the northern parts of Britain in particular. -
How Hume Became a Sceptic
2005 How Hume Became a Sceptic c Jennifer McRobert Contents Preface 3 Introduction 11 1 Reading Hume's Treatise 12 2 The Hume Affair 29 3 The First Enquiry 42 4 Hume and the Revolutionary Lens 63 5 Dangerous Philosophy 77 6 Edinburgh Debates the Causal Relation 92 7 Spurious Connections 111 8 The Treatise Revisited 122 9 How Hume Became a Sceptic 139 Postscript 152 Appendix 172 Notes 227 Bibliography 241 2 Preface This book tells the story of how Edinburgh philosopher, David Hume, author of one of the most important works in the history of Western philosophy, became a sceptic. The account, which begins with the 1739-40 publication of A Treatise of Human Nature, draws together two plausible, but quite different, perspectives on Hume and his philosophy. One of these perspectives is philosophical; the other historical. Considered independently, neither gets at the whole of the truth. However, when taken together, the two perspectives yield a rich account of the development of Hume's philosophy and reputation that merits our careful consideration. The first account is that Hume earned his reputation as a sceptic when he wrote and published, in 1739-40, A Treatise of Human Nature. This book, so it was claimed, rejected widely accepted tenets of metaphysics. Book I, Part IV, for example, treats of scepticism with regard to reason and the senses. There, Hume questions the presuppositions that reason supplies a foundation for causal belief, that the senses give rise to notions of independent, continued, external existences, that the soul is immaterial, and so on. -
NEW Hume Web Biblio 26 08 2004.Qxd 01/09/2004 10:39 Page I
NEW Hume web biblio 26_08_2004.qxd 01/09/2004 10:39 Page i A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF HUME’S WRITINGS AND EARLY RESPONSES James Fieser NEW Hume web biblio 26_08_2004.qxd 01/09/2004 10:39 Page ii This edition published by Thoemmes Press, 2003 Thoemmes Press 11 Great George Street Bristol BS1 5RR, England http://www.thoemmes.com A Bibliography of Hume’s Writings and Early Responses. © James Fieser, 2003, 2005 NEW Hume web biblio 26_08_2004.qxd 01/09/2004 10:39 Page iii CONTENTS Preface v Major Events in Hume’s Life 1 Bibliography of Hume’s Writings 3 Bibliography of Early Responses to Hume. 65 Index of Authors 181 Index of Topics 203 iii NEW Hume web biblio 26_08_2004.qxd 01/09/2004 10:39 Page iv NEW Hume web biblio 26_08_2004.qxd 01/09/2004 10:39 Page v PREFACE This document contains two separate bibliographies. The first is a “Bibliography of Hume’s Writings” that I constructed for my own benefit while preparing the Early Responses to Hume series. Although it does not merit printed publication in its present state, Thoemmes Press has offered to typeset it at their expense, with the belief that, as a freely available computer file, it will be useful for Hume scholars as it is. It is my hope that someone in the future will prepare a more definitive work of this sort. The second is “A Bibliography of Early Responses to Hume,” which is taken directly from the final pages of Early Responses to Hume’s Life and Reputation (2003). -
1743-45) by DOCTOR ROBERT JAMES (1703-1776
A MEDICINAL DICTIONARY (1743-45) by DOCTOR ROBERT JAMES (1703-1776) By ALEXANDER DAVID WRIGHT A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Social Studies in Medicine Institute for Applied Health Research College of Medical and Dental Sciences University of Birmingham October 2020 i University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. Abstract A Medicinal Dictionary was written by Dr Robert James (1703-1776) and published by Thomas Osborne (1704?-1767) in London in three folio volumes between 1743 and 1745. The circumstances that resulted in James and his school friend, Samuel Johnson (1709- 1784), writing important dictionaries within ten years of each other in London are examined. The background of James in the Midlands and his training in Oxford and possibly in Leiden are explored. Samuel Johnson’s move to London has been well documented but the reasons for James’s move in mid-career are less obvious. The introduction of James to Osborne was a key event leading to the invitation to compile A Medicinal Dictionary. -
Draft Paper for Pre-Circulation at the Nineteenth International Congress of the Historical Sciences, August, 2000
Draft Paper for the Oslo History Conference, August 2000. Christopher J. Finlay DRAFT PAPER FOR PRE-CIRCULATION AT THE NINETEENTH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF THE HISTORICAL SCIENCES, AUGUST, 2000. Commercial Individualism and the Polite Academy: James Balfour’s Encounter with the Moral Philosophy of David Hume in A Delineation of the Nature and Obligation of Morality. Christopher J. Finlay Introduction: In 1753, James Balfour of Pilrig had a treatise published in Edinburgh under the title ‘A Delineation of the Nature and Obligation of Morality, with Reflexions upon Mr. Hume’s Book, intitled, An Inquiry concerning the Principles of Morals.’ In the summer of the following year, William Cleghorn, the professor moral philosophy at Edinburgh since 1745, died shortly after (allegedly) recommending Adam Ferguson as the man most suitable to replace him at the university. Instead, the position was given to James Balfour whose unstartling treatise on the principles of morals was then followed by ten years of even less impressive teaching at the university. He was eventually persuaded to leave the chair whose reputation had, in his hands, fallen behind that of the university as a whole by 1764. It was then given to Ferguson, who had become the champion of, amongst others, David Hume and Principal Robertson. Richard B. Sher emphasised the failure of the chair of moral philosophy, created in 1708, to attract impressive occupants, or at least to sustain impressive performances, right up until its golden period began when Adam Ferguson took it in 1764.1 Or, it would be more accurate to say, it failed to attract impressive moral philosophers who were at the same time acceptable as candidates to the university authorities. -
Introduction
Cambridge University Press 978-1-108-43131-6 — Moral Philosophy in Eighteenth-Century Britain Colin Heydt Excerpt More Information Introduction Hume’s infamous essay “Of Suicide,” published posthumously in 1777, endeavored to “restore men to their native liberty” by rebutting “all the common arguments” against suicide and showing that suicide “may be free from every imputation of guilt or blame.”1 Hume characterized these “common arguments” as follows: “If Suicide be criminal, it must be a transgression of our duty, either to God, our neighbor, or ourselves.” The year before, another text also expressed what its author called “the common sense of the subject” with lines such as these: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”2 This “common sense” and these “common arguments” were, indeed, common. They both derived from early modern practical ethics, which covered the content of morality – what we ought to do and be. Practical ethics included the determination of our moral relations to God, self, and others, and the specific duties, rights, and virtues we are bound to respect or realize. The leading tradition of practical ethics developed from Protestant natural law and particularly from Samuel Pufendorf, whom Francis Hutcheson described in 1725 (with some vexation) as “the grand Instructor in Morals to all who have of late given themselves to that Study.”3 Any time a philosopher – Hume, Smith, Butler, Hutcheson, Reid, Paley, Jefferson, Bentham – treated topics such as virtue, natural rights, marriage, slavery, or the duties of a citizen, he drew on this practical ethics, either reaffirming 1 David Hume, Essays: Moral, Political, and Literary, edited by Eugene F. -
Patterns of Congruence and Divergence Among 18Th Century Chemical Affinity Theories
VARIATIONS ON A THEME: PATTERNS OF CONGRUENCE AND DIVERGENCE AMONG 18TH CENTURY CHEMICAL AFFINITY THEORIES Georgette Nicola Lewis Taylor University College London Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Science and Technology Studies University College London August 2006 1 I, Georgette Nicola Lewis Taylor, confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. 2 Acknowledgements This study could not have been completed without a great deal of help and support. First in the list of thanks must be my supervisor, Dr Hasok Chang at UCL. Our regular meetings over the past five years, together with his readiness to listen to my ideas and to rigorously press me to clarify my thoughts have been invaluable. I am eternally grateful to him for offering me the opportunity to study at UCL and for teaching me more than I can ever put into coherent words. I must also acknowledge with thanks the funding provided by the AHRB/C, without which the work would not have been possible. Other scholars have also assisted in the process, and I must thank all the staff of UCL’s Science and Technology Studies department, and in particular all those who have read my various writings along the way. Thanks also to Professor Simon Schaffer at HPS in Cambridge for reading my work and taking the time to offer his invaluable advice. Also to Dr Matthew Eddy at Durham, whose help and advice has been of great assistance over the years. -
The Philosophical Publishing Life of David Hume
The Philosophical Publishing Life of David Hume GREGORY ERNEST BOUCHARD Department of History, McGill University, Montreal November, 2013 A thesis submitted to McGIll University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Ph.D. in History © Gregory Ernest Bouchard, 2013 1 2 Table of Contents ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................. 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................................... 9 ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................................................... 11 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 13 CHAPTER I: FROM TREATISE TO ESSAYS ..................................................................... 36 CHAPTER II: THE INTELLECTUAL AND MATERIAL CONSTRUCTION OF ESSAYS AND TREATISES ON SEVERAL SUBJECTS ..................................................................... 96 PART ONE ................................................................................................................................... 96 PART TWO.................................................................................................................................. 132 CHAPTER III: HUME IN THE CONVIVIAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH'S LITERATI ................................................................................................................................................. -
Thomas Morgan (1671/2-1743): from Presbyterian Preacher to Christian Deist : a Contribution to the Study of English Deism Issue Date: 2018-11-08
Cover Page The handle http://hdl.handle.net/1887/66795 holds various files of this Leiden University dissertation. Author: Berg, J. van den Title: Thomas Morgan (1671/2-1743): from presbyterian preacher to Christian deist : A contribution to the study of English deism Issue Date: 2018-11-08 Thomas Morgan (1671/2-1743): from Presbyterian Preacher to Christian Deist A Contribution to the Study of English Deism Proefschrift ter verkrijging van de graad van Doctor aan de Universteit Leiden, op gezag van Rector Magnificus prof. mr. C.J.J.M. Stolker, volgens besluit van het College voor Promoties te verdedigen op donderdag 8 november 2018 klokke 15.00 uur door Jan van den Berg geboren te ‘s-Gravenhage in 1951 2 Promotor: Professor Dr. E.G.E. van der Wall Copromotor: Dr. J.W. Buisman Promotiecommissie: Professor Dr. M.P.A. de Baar Professor Dr. L. van Bunge (Erasmus University Rotterdam) Professor Dr. H.G.M. Jorink Professor Dr. W.W. Mijnhardt (University Utrecht) 3 CONTENTS Thomas Morgan considered as deist 6-17 §1: An introduction 6 §2: Deism in the view of its English opponents 7 §3: Deism as natural religion 9 §4: Did an English deist movement exist? 11 §5: The study and definition of English Deism 12 §6: Who were the English deists? 13 §7: Thomas Morgan as ‘Christian Deist’ 15 §8: The structure of the thesis 17 Chapter One: Life of Thomas Morgan 18-41 §1: Introduction 18 §2: Youth in Somerset 18 §3: Year and place of birth 19 §4: Education in Bridgwater in Somerset 21 §5: A Geneva connection? 22 §6: The dissenting community 22 §7: Independent -
Moral Philosophy and the Origins of Modern Aesthetic Theory in Scotland and Germany
Moral Philosophy and the Origins of Modern Aesthetic Theory in Scotland and Germany by Simon William Grote A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Thomas A Brady, Jr., Chair Professor David Lieberman Professor Martin Jay Professor Niklaus Largier Spring 2010 Moral Philosophy and the Origins of Modern Aesthetic Theory in Scotland and Germany © 2010 by Simon William Grote All rights reserved. A B S T R A C T Moral Philosophy and the Origins of Modern Aesthetic Theory in Scotland and Germany by Simon William Grote Doctor of Philosophy in History University of California, Berkeley Professor Thomas A. Brady, Jr., Chair The aim of this dissertation is to rewrite the early history of modern aesthetic theory. The early eighteenth century is widely recognized as having been marked by innovations in thinking about art, beauty, and sense perception by a large group of well- known and lesser-known authors in many parts of Europe, among the most important of whom were Anthony Ashley Cooper, Third Earl of Shaftesbury (1671-1713) in England, Francis Hutcheson (1694-1746) in Ireland and Scotland, and Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten (1714-62) in Brandenburg-Prussia. But no significant, historically- informed, comparative study of the emergence of aesthetic theory as a pan-European phenomenon has ever been undertaken. Rather, historians of aesthetic theory have long tended to summarize the eighteenth century as a series of preludes to the achievements of Immanuel Kant in his 1790 Critique of Judgment. -
The Sole Right ... Shall Return to the Authors": Anglo-American Authors' Reversion Rights from the Statute of Anne to Contemporary U.S
Columbia Law School Scholarship Archive Faculty Scholarship Faculty Publications 2010 "The Sole Right ... Shall Return to the Authors": Anglo-American Authors' Reversion Rights from the Statute of Anne to Contemporary U.S. Copyright Lionel Bently Jane C. Ginsburg Columbia Law School, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/faculty_scholarship Part of the Contracts Commons, Intellectual Property Law Commons, and the Legal History Commons Recommended Citation Lionel Bently & Jane C. Ginsburg, "The Sole Right ... Shall Return to the Authors": Anglo-American Authors' Reversion Rights from the Statute of Anne to Contemporary U.S. Copyright, 25 BERKELEY TECH. L. J. 1475 (2010). Available at: https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/faculty_scholarship/552 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty Publications at Scholarship Archive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Scholarship by an authorized administrator of Scholarship Archive. For more information, please contact [email protected]. "THE SOLE RIGHT... SHALL RETURN TO THE AUTHORS" 1: ANGLO-AMERICAN AUTHORS' REVERSION RIGHTS FROM THE STATUTE OF ANNE TO CONTEMPORARY U.S. COPYRIGHT Lionel Bentyt &Jane C Ginsburgt TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION .................................... 1477 II. THE REVERSION RIGHT IN BRITAIN FROM 1710 TO 1814....................... ................ 1480 A. STATUTE OF ANNE: ORIGINS OF SECTION 11 ....................... 1480 1. The Purpose of the Contingent Reversion ............. ..... 1482 2. Wy a Reversion Right Rather than Regulation ofAuthor- Publisher Contracts? .......................... ..... 1487 B. IMPACT OF SECTION 11 ON AUTHORS AND BOOKSELLERS........... 1491 1. ContractualPractice After 1710............. ........ 1494 a) Formalities ....................................... 1500 b) Interest Transferred ............... ............... 1502 c) Duration of Transfer..............