Free will and irreligion in Hume's treatise
| Abstract | Hume’s views on free will have been enormously influential and are widely regarded as representing “the best-known classical statement of what is now known as compatibilism”.1 There are a number of valuable studies that consider his contribution on this subject from a contemporary, critical perspective, but this will not be my particular concern in this paper.2 My primary interest, consistent with the specific aims and objectives of this volume, is to explain the way that Hume’s arguments in T, 2.3.1-2 relate to his fundamental intentions in the Treatise as a whole. Contrary to what is generally supposed, I will show that Hume’s arguments in these two sections are significantly concerned with problems of religion. More specifically, Hume’s necessitarian commitments, I argue, contain features that are systematically irreligious in character. These features of Hume’s views on this subject are indicative of his deeper and wider irreligious intentions throughout the Treatise. | |||||||||
| Keywords | No keywords specified (fix it) | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,679 |
| External links |
  Try with proxy. |
| Through your library | Only published papers are available at libraries |
Similar books and articlesAnnette Baier (2011). The Pursuits of Philosophy: An Introduction to the Life and Thought of David Hume. Harvard University Press.
James A. Harris (2009). Of Hobbes and Hume: A Review of Paul Russell, the Riddle of Hume's Treatise: Skepticism, Naturalism and Irreligion. [REVIEW] Philosophical Books 50 (1):38-46.
David Hume (2007). A Treatise of Human Nature: A Critical Edition. Oxford University Press.
Paul Russell (2004). Butler's "Future State" and Hume's "Guide of Life". Journal of the History of Philosophy 42 (4):425-448.
Paul Russell, Hume on Free Will. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Paul Russell (1995). Freedom and Moral Sentiment: Hume's Way of Naturalizing Responsibility. Oxford University Press.
Colin Heydt (2010). The Riddle of Hume's Treatise :Skepticism, Naturalism, and Irreligion (Review). Journal of the History of Philosophy 48 (3):401-402.
James Baillie (2000). Hume on Morality. Routledge.
Paul Russell (2008). The Riddle of Hume's Treatise: Skepticism, Naturalism, and Irreligion. Oxford University Press.
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2009-01-28Total downloads24 ( #51,635 of 549,088 )Recent downloads (6 months)1 ( #63,317 of 549,088 )How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
