David Hume

Description

This volume on Hume's politics brings together essays that have been formative of the scholarly and more general debate about Hume's political thought. Unlike many theorists who express their thought in terms of system, Hume uses the incidental genre of the essay as the vehicle for his writing and his mode of presentation is a reflection, indeed an expression, of his belief in the limited power of reason to give any over-all shape to human life. Hume's politics are particularly suited for discussion of a wide range of view-points. The possibilities of seeing in Hume both the conservative and the liberal are pursued along with Hume's sophisticated analysis of party-politics. His acute and pioneering theorisation of perhaps the most central issue for 18th-century political observers, that of commerce and politics, is brought out in the context of his ideas of the international order. His fundamental theory of justice is discussed in its connection with law, property and government. Contents Acknowledgements Series Preface Introduction 1 James Moore (1977), ‘Hume’s Political Science and the Classical Republican Tradition’ 2 Richard H. Dees (1992), ‘Hume and the Contexts of Polities’ 3 Donald W. Livingston (2009), ‘David Hume and the Conservative Tradition’ 4 John B. Stewart (1995), ‘The Public Interest vs. Old Rights’ 5 Mark G. Spencer (2002), ‘Hume and Madison on Faction’ 6 Jeffrey Church (2007), ‘Selfish and Moral Politics: David Hume on Stability and Cohesion in the Modern State’ 7 Carl Wennerlind (2002), ‘David Hume’s Political Philosophy: A Theory of Commercial Modernization’ 8 A.B. Stilz (2003), ‘Hume, Modern Patriotism, and Commercial Society’ 9 Duncan Forbes (1978), ‘The European, or Cosmopolitan, Dimension in Hume’s Science of Polities’ 10 Neil McArthur (2005), ‘Laws Not Men: Hume’s Distinction between Barbarous and Civilized Government’ 11 Neil McArthur (2005), ‘David Hume and the Common Law of England’ 12 James Moore (2002), ‘Utility and Humanity: The Quest for the Honestum in Cicero, Hutcheson, and Hume’ 13 Aaron Garrett (2004), ‘Hume’s “Original Difference”: Race, National Character and the Human Sciences’ 14 James Moore (1976), ‘Hume’s Theory of Justice and Property’ 15 Knud Haakonssen (1978), ‘Hume’s Obligations’ 16 Annette Baier (1988), ‘Hume’s Account of Social Artifice—Its Originsand Originality’ 17 David Gauthier (1992), ‘Artificial Virtues and the Sensible Knave’ 18 Annette C. Baier (1992), ‘Artificial Virtues and the Equally Sensible Non-Knaves: A Response to Gauthier’ 19 Stephen Darwall (1993), ‘Motive and Obligation in Hume’s Ethics’ 20 Jason Baldwin (2004), ‘Hume’s Knave and the Interests of Justice’ 21 Don Garrett (2007), ‘The First Motive to Justice: Hume’s Circle Argument Squared’ 22 Rachel Cohon (2001), ‘The Shackles of Virtue: Hume on Allegiance to Government’ 23 Stephen Buckle and Dario Castiglione (1991), ‘Hume’s Critique of the Contract Theory’ Name Index