Synopses & Reviews
This companion to the study of one of the great works of Western philosophy--David Hume's Enquiry concerning Human Understanding (1748)--provides a general overview of the Enquiry, especially for those approaching it for the first time, and sets it in the context of Hume's philosophical work as a whole. It elucidates, analyzes, and assesses the philosophy of the Enquiry, clarifying its interpretation and discussing recent developments in Hume scholarship that are relevant to the Enquiry. The eminent contributors to this volume cover a broad range of topics: meaning, induction, skepticism, belief, personal identity, causation, freedom, miracles, probability, and religious belief.
Review
"Peter Millican's Reading Hume on Human Understanding is a comprehensive overview of the philosophy of the first Enquiry and of the secondary literature on that work... future scholars will be able to review an outstanding collection of summary descriptions of books and articles on Hume and the first Enquiry, and will be that much more quickly able to focus their research and inform their reflections. We all owe him for that...In sum, this is a very valuable book, which succeeds admirably in its aim of providing a guide to advanced study of the first Enquiry. It would be an excellent choice for a graduate seminar, and it deserves to be on every Hume scholar's reference shelf."--Hume Studies
"Hume's Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding presents in elegant essay form many of the doctrines of Book One of A Treatise of Human Nature...[Millican] has with this collection, made it easier to discern the various ways in which Hume's second thoughts on human understanding differ from his first."--Times Literary Supplement
Synopsis
This companion to the study of one of the great works of Western philosophy--David Hume's Enquiry concerning Human Understanding (1748)--provides a general overview of the Enquiry, especially for those approaching it for the first time, and sets it in the context of Hume's philosophical work as a whole. It elucidates, analyzes, and assesses the philosophy of the Enquiry, clarifying its interpretation and discussing recent developments in Hume scholarship that are relevant to the Enquiry. The eminent contributors to this volume cover a broad range of topics: meaning, induction, skepticism, belief, personal identity, causation, freedom, miracles, probability, and religious belief.
About the Author
Peter Millican is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy and Computer Studies at the University of Leeds.
Table of Contents
Introduction,
Peter Millican1. The Context, Aims, and Structure of Hume's First Enquiry, Peter Millican
2. Two Species of Philosophy; The Historical Significance of the First Enquiry, M. A. Stewart
3. Empiricism about Meanings, Jonathan Bennett
4. Hume's Sceptical Doubts concerning Induction, Peter Millican
5. Belief and Instinct in Hume's First Enquiry, Martin Bell
6. Hume, Belief, and Personal Identity, Justin Broackes
7. The Idea of Necessary Connexion, Edward J. Craig
8. David Hume: Objects and Power, Galen Strawson
9. Hume and Thick Connexions, Simon Blackburn
10. Hume on Liberty and Necessity, George Botterill
11. Hume on Testimony concerning Miracles, Don Garrett
12. Hume versus Price on Miracles and Prior Probabilities: Testimony and the Bayesian Calculation, David Owen
13. Religion: The Useless Hypothesis, J. C. A. Gaskin
14. Of the Academical or Sceptical Philosophy, David F. Norton
Bibliography, Index