THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PHILOSOPHY, POLITENESS, AND PARTY: DAVID HUME AND THE CONSTITUTION OF A MODERN SOCIAL ORDER A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE DIVINITY SCHOOL IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY BY DAVID PATRICK LYONS CHICAGO, ILLINOIS DECEMBER 2017 Copyright © 2017 by David Patrick Lyons. All rights reserved. To Gretchen, for all the great beauty. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................................. vi ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... x INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................ 1 CHAPTER 1: KIRK, COURT, AND MODERATES ............................................................................ 37 THE AMBITIONS AND REVERSALS OF A MAN OF LETTERS ................................................ 41 A SEAT IN THE ENGLISH PARNASSUS ............................................................................... 47 THE PATRONAGE CONTROVERSY IN THE KIRK ................................................................. 58 TRADITIONALISTS, CENSURE, AND THE HISTORY .............................................................. 69 CHAPTER 2: “TO BE DETESTED AND HATED” .............................................................................. 77 THE IRONY OF REVOLUTION ........................................................................................... 93 FEARS OF CONSTITUTIONAL CORRUPTION: THE COUNTRY PARTY AND ITS PROGRAM ..... 107 FACTIONS RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL ........................................................................... 118 CHAPTER 3: THE DISEASE OF THE LEARNED ............................................................................. 133 A LETTER TO AN UNNAMED PHYSICIAN ........................................................................ 137 PHILOSOPHY AND DESPAIR: THE FIRST BOOK OF THE TREATISE ...................................... 144 DESPAIR AND POLITENESS ............................................................................................ 152 CHAPTER 4: THE EMERGENCE AND DEFENSE OF A POLITE AND COMMERCIAL PEOPLE .............. 158 URBANITY AND THE EMERGENCE OF A MIDDLING ORDER .............................................. 166 BOURGEOIS IDEOLOGY: THE CASE OF THE SPECTATOR................................................... 183 COUNTRY WHIGGERY, COURT WHIGGERY, AND ADDISON’S CLAIMS OF NEUTRALITY ... 190 CHAPTER 5: A POLITE HISTORY FOR A POLITE PEOPLE ............................................................. 196 HUME AND THE PROJECT OF COURT WHIGGERY ............................................................ 203 iv HUME: NEUTRAL OR PARTISAN? COURT OR COUNTRY? ................................................. 224 COURT WHIGGERY AND THE DEFENSE OF THE POLITE COMMERCIAL ORDER .................. 244 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................... 260 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................ 271 v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS One of the themes of this dissertation is the emergence of the norms of bourgeois politeness. Although I find many of these norms suspect, I readily embrace the obligations of a more fundamental politeness, which requires that I express my appreciation for the immeasurable support, encouragement, advice, and love I have received in the furtherance of this project. Beyond mere politeness, justice, honor, and a reciprocal love demand the same recognition. Paul Mendes-Flohr, the chair of my dissertation committee, has been a model of sagacity, generosity, and nobility throughout my time at Chicago. He brings warmth to the coldest of places, and knowing him has made me a better man. Fredrik Albritton Jonsson and Paul Cheney have been the epitomes of scholarly interlocutors and mentors: meticulous in their reading, penetrating in their observations, and collegial beyond all measure. The great interest they have taken in my work and my development as a scholar and teacher have been among the greatest blessings I have received at Chicago. I could not have asked for better teachers, conversation partners, or friends. In my time at Chicago I have benefitted greatly from the instruction and guidance of Susan Schreiner, Philip Hamburger, Ralph Lerner, Constantin Fasolt, and the late Jean Bethke Elshtain. As thankful as I am to all of the foregoing, Bruce Lincoln, who elevates pedagogy to nearly super-human levels, deserves special mention. Despite our deep ideological differences, he represents the type of scholar and teacher I aspire to be. Speaking from the other side of the desk, my students at Chicago have inspired me to become a better reader, listener, and thinker. I owe my early confidence to think, speak, and live as a scholar to Margaret Walczak, Leora Lindhorst, Frances O’Neal, Stephen Loomis, Fr. John Lindsay, and the late James vi Kwiatkowski. Moreover, I never would have considered the life of an academic had Andy Achenbaum and Mills Thornton not taken me under their respective wings while I was an undergraduate at the University of Michigan. Finally, I must single out for thanks my third-grade teacher, Katherine Jenks, who demanded that I always ask myself how I know what I think I know. Few lessons have been more rewarding and more humbling, and fewer still have been given with such love. My thanks to the participants in the Early Modern History Workshop for years of illuminating conversation, in particular Ted Cook, Jonathan Lyon, Bill Monter, Corey Tazarra, Colin Wilder, Kirsty Montgomery, Carolyn Purnell, and Ollie Cussen. I have also benefitted from countless random conversations at the gym and on the street with David Waldman. Colleen Mullarkey’s grace, kindness, and care allowed me to move this manuscript through its final stages in something like a calm, dignified, and professional manner. In those moments when my own will would fail, many friends at Chicago were there to say “hold on.” My thanks to Joshua Connor, Joshua Daniel, Adam Darlage, Jeff Fowler, Joe Haydt, and Onsi Kamel, who have not only helped me think through my argument at different stages, but who have, at different times and in different ways, reminded me why the life of a scholar is one worth pursuing. Nathan Ristuccia has been an exceedingly careful, and often relentless, reader and has provided me with invaluable feedback. Our discussions, which have ranged well beyond Hume and eighteenth-century Britain, have been similarly edifying. Fr. Elias O’Brien, Fr. Paul Mankowski, Fr. Robin Ryan, and Michael England have provided me with needed guidance and nudges, and the occasional push, along the way. Justin Howell’s calm demeanor, sound counsel, and soul-lifting laughter stand among the great unexpected joys of my time at Chicago; whether in the Regenstein or at Jimmy’s, he is truly one hell of a bastard. vii Allison Gray has been the younger sister I never knew I needed; wiser and kinder than a single soul has a right to be, she has been an unyielding advocate for my abilities when I wondered if they were up to the task I had placed before them. James Vaughn has been the unofficial fourth member of my dissertation committee. A paragon of generosity and collegiality, he has read every page of this dissertation and has enriched it with his mastery of eighteenth-century British history and his unrelenting demand for serious thought. Beyond his immediate and obvious contributions to this project, James is a treasured, if sometimes infuriating, conversation partner and the truest of friends. There is a long list of family members and old friends whom I carried with me to Chicago in spirit, and one who was here in the flesh. I would not have had the courage to leave the practice of law and return to and then continue with graduate study had it not been for the advice and encouragement of Anne Rutter, Kerry Hartkopf, Bryan Nester, Fr. William Stevenson, Mira Getzinger Ringler, Greg Pemberton, Tim Byars, Paul Magreta, Karen Gaides, Jim Keniff, Ketan Patel, Jeff and Ann Whitley, Rob Baker, Greg Stanton, Charlie Contrada, Brian and Nikki Selden, Norman Beck, Bob Burpee, Gib Bickel, J. B. Hadden, Geoff Moul, and John, Ann, and Tom Schoger. I doubt I shall ever have more vocal or tender supporters than my paternal grandparents, the late Tom and Agnes Lyons. In addition to showering me with affection, they taught me the values of humility and simplicity at an age when I was still too stupid to see these virtues’ great worth. My mother, Carla Kaser, made me a skeptic long before I knew the word, and her good sense, support, and love have given me the confidence and courage to pursue my own path. I will always wish I were a bit more like her. My late father, Tom Lyons, always encouraged me even when he did not understand me and taught me that, above all else, a teacher is someone who viii feels compelled to give something back. Both of my parents have provided me with models of hard work and service that I strive to match. My niece, Arielle Lyons, and my nephews, T. J. Lyons and Owen Lyons, have been constant sources of joy. I will never be able to convey to them the deep love, obligation, and gratitude I feel toward them. I owe my deepest thanks to my brilliant and beautiful wife, Gretchen, and our sweet