A Companion to Hume
Blackwell Companions to Philosophy

1. Edition April 2008
592 Pages, Hardcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
Comprised of twenty-nine specially commissioned essays, A
Companion to Hume examines the depth of the philosophies and
influence of one of history's most remarkable thinkers.
* Demonstrates the range of Hume's work and illuminates the
ongoing debates that it has generated
* Organized by subject, with introductions to each section to
orient the reader
* Explores topics such as knowledge, passion, morality, religion,
economics, and politics
* Examines the paradoxes of Hume's thought and his legacy,
covering the methods, themes, and consequences of his contributions
to philosophy
Acknowledgments xii
Note on Citations xiii
Introduction 1
Hume's Context 19
1 Hume in the Enlightenment Tradition 21
Stephen Buckle
Part I Mind and Knowledge 39
2 Hume's Theory of Ideas 41
Don Garrett
3 Hume on Memory and Imagination 58
Saul Traiger
4 Hume and the Origin of Our Ideas of Space and Time 72
Wayne Waxman
5 Hume on the Relation of Cause and Effect 89
Francis Watanabe Dauer
6 Inductive Inference in Hume's Philosophy 106
Louis E. Loeb
7 Hume on Belief in the External World 126
Michel Malherbe
8 Hume on Personal Identity 140
Donald C. Ainslie
Part II Passions and Action 157
9 Hume's Indirect Passions 159
Rachel Cohon
10 Hume on the Direct Passions and Motivation 185
Tito Magri
11 Hume on Liberty and Necessity 201
John Bricke
Part III Morality and Beauty 217
12 Hume on Moral Rationalism, Sentimentalism, and Sympathy
219
Charlotte R. Brown
13 Sympathy and Hume's Spectator-centered Theory of Virtue
240
Kate Abramson
14 Hume's Theory of Justice, or Artificial Virtue
257
Eugenio Lecaldano
15 Hume on Beauty and Virtue 273
Jacqueline Taylor
16 Enquiry concerning the Principles of Morals: Incomparably the
Best? 293
Annette C. Baier
Part IV Religion 321
17 Hume's Views on Religion: Intellectual and Cultural
Influences 323
Terence Penelhum
18 Hume on the Nature and Existence of God 338
Martin Bell
19 Hume on Miracles and Immortality 353
Michael P. Levine
Part V Economics, Politics, and History 371
20 Hume's Economic Theory 373
Tatsuya Sakamoto
21 "One of the Finest and Most Subtile Inventions":
Hume on Government 388
Richard H. Dees
22 "The Most Illustrious Philosopher and Historian of the
Age": Hume's History of England 406
Mark Salber Phillips
Part VI Contemporary Themes 423
23 Hume's Naturalism and His Skepticism 425
Janet Broughton
24 Is Hume a Realist or an Anti-realist? 441
P. J. E. Kail
25 Hume's Epistemological Legacy 457
William Edward Morris
26 The Humean Theory of Motivation and Its Critics 477
Elizabeth S. Radcliffe
27 The Sources of Normativity in Hume's Moral Theory
493
Tom L. Beauchamp
28 Hume's Metaethics: Is Hume a Moral Noncognitivist?
513
Nicholas L. Sturgeon
Bibliography 529
Index 553
scholars and newer names in Hume studies . . . such books do this
job very well and this one on Hume especially so: the reader is
fortunate to have as guides, Louis Loeb on induction, Rachel Cohon
on the passions, and Terence Penelhum on religion, to pick, as
examples, just three of the excellent range of authors".
(Metapsychology Online Reviews, 2011)
"Blackwell's fortieth Companion to Philosophy is a splendid and
long-overdue Companion to Hume, expertly pulled together by
Elizabeth Radcliffe, a former editor of the journal Hume
Studies. Although the Blackwell Companions are promoted as a
student reference series, this particular volume is clearly of
considerable value to serious scholars as well." (Religion in the
Age of Enlightenment, December 2010)"One distinctive feature of
this Blackwell Companion to Hume is that it attempts to be
more careful than is common with books of its sort to mark a
distinction between explicating Hume's own ideas and arguments, and
assessing their relevance to present-day philosophical discussion."
(Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, February 2009)
"[The book is] highly approachable, well-organized, and--in
a field where a lot is published--a distinctive addition. A
book for academic and specialist libraries almost exclusively."
(Reference Reviews, Issue 7 2008)
"The essays are of uniformly high quality, and many are written
by well-established, respected philosophers.... David Hume is
widely recognized as one of the most important and influential
figures in modern philosophy. Every library should have a copy of
this valuable resource, which will appeal to anyone interested in
Hume's philosophy. Highly recommended." (Choice, November
2008)
"An outstanding collection that will be both a guide for students
and a stimulus to scholars. Elizabeth Radcliffe and her
distinguished contributors cast fresh and clarifying light on each
of the many topics they address."
-Kenneth Winkler, Yale University
"Elizabeth Radcliffe has achieved a remarkable feat of editorial
organization. This will be a major reference resource for those who
want to see the main directions in which Hume studies are currently
heading. Topics are well chosen. Contributors range from some of
our most distinguished senior scholars to talented recruits from
the rising generation."
-M.A. Stewart, University of Aberdeen