Hume's Theory of Justice
Oxford University Press (1981)
| Abstract | A Treatise of Human Nature was published between 1739 and 1740. Book I, entitled Of the Understanding, contains Hume's epistemology, i.e., his account of the manner in which we acquire knowledge in general, its justification (to the extent that he thought it could be justified), and its limits. Book II, entitled Of the Passions, expounds most of what could be called Hume's philosophy of psychology in general, and his moral psychology (including discussions of the problem of the freedom of the will and the rationality of action) in particular. Book III, entitled Of Morals, is also divided into three parts. Part II of Book III, entitled Of justice and injustice, is the subject of the present volume. In it Hume attempts to give an empiricist theory of justice. He rejects the view, approximated to in varying degrees by Cumberland, Cudworth, Locke, Clarke, Wollaston, and Butler, that justice is something natural and part of the nature of things, and that its edicts are eternal and immutable, and discernible by reason. Hume maintains, on the contrary, as did Hobbes and Mandeville, that justice is a matter of observing rules or conventions which are of human invention, and that, in consequence, our acquiring a knowledge of justice is an empirical affair of ascertaining what these rules or conventions are. | |||||||||
| Keywords | Justice (Philosophy Ethics Knowledge, Theory of | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Buy the book | $402.25 new Amazon page | |||||||||
| Call number | B1499.J86.H37 | |||||||||
| ISBN(s) | 0198247249 | |||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,631 |
| External links | This entry has no external links. Add one. |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesA. Tucker (2012). Scarce Justice: The Accuracy, Scope, and Depth of Justice. Politics, Philosophy and Economics 11 (1):76-96.
Rainer Forst (2011). The Right to Justification: Elements of a Constructivist Theory of Justice. Columbia University Press.
John Rawls (2009/2005). A Theory of Justice. In Steven M. Cahn (ed.), Exploring Ethics: An Introductory Anthology. Oxford University Press.
Sharon R. Krause (2004). Hume and the (False) Luster of Justice. Political Theory 32 (5):628-655.
Kenneth R. Westphal (2010). From 'Convention' to 'Ethical Life': Hume's Theory of Justice in Post-Kantian Perspective. Journal of Moral Philosophy 7 (1):105-132.
Sheldon Wein (1988). Humean Minds and Moral Theory. Philosophy Research Archives 14:229-236.
William Kline (2012). Hume's Theory of Business Ethics Revisited. Journal of Business Ethics 105 (2):163-174.
David Johnston (2011). A Brief History of Justice. Wiley-Blackwell.
Larry R. Churchill (1999). Looking to Hume for Justice: On the Utility of Hume's View of Justice for American Health Care Reform. Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 24 (4):352 – 364.
J. Salter (2012). Hume and Mutual Advantage. Politics, Philosophy and Economics 11 (3):302-321.
Analytics
Monthly downloads
Sorry, there are not enough data points to plot this chart.
|
Added to index2009-01-28Total downloads0Recent downloads (6 months)0How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
