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Author Finlay, Christopher (Christopher J.)

Title Hume's social philosophy : human nature and commercial sociability in A treatise of human nature / Christopher J. Finlay.

Publication Info. London ; New York : Continuum, [2007]
©2007

Item Status

Description 1 online resource (viii, 202 pages).
Physical Medium polychrome
Description text file
Series Continuum studies in British philosophy
Continuum studies in British philosophy.
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 158-198) and index.
Contents Introduction -- Hume's social contexts -- Philosophy in civil society -- Understanding 'life and action' -- Pride and esteem -- Sympathy, sociability and esteem : Hume's account of social relations -- Morality, justice, and government -- Hume's theory of civil society.
Summary In Hume's Social Philosophy, Christopher J. Finlay presents a highly original and engaging reading of David Hume's landmark text, A Treatise of Human Nature, and political writings published immediately after it, articulating a unified view of his theory of human nature in society and his political philosophy. The book explores the hitherto neglected social contexts within which Hume's ideas were conceived. While a great deal of attention has previously been given to Hume's intellectual and literary contexts, important connections can also be made between the fundamentals of Hume's philosophy and the social world in which it was developed. Finlay argues that Hume's unified theory of human nature, conceived in terms of passions, reason and sociability, was meant to account for human nature in its most articulate manifestations, in the commercial and 'polite' social contexts of eighteenth-century Europe. Through careful exegetical study of Hume's analysis of reasoning and the passions, Finlay explores the diverse aspects of sociability which the Treatise of Human Nature invokes. In particular, this study finds in the Treatise an important exploration of the tensions between the selfish motivations of individuals and their propensity to bond with others in complex and diverse kinds of social group. Analysis of Book III of the Treatise and of essays published afterwards shows how the various individualist and social propensities explored through the passions are addressed in Hume's theories of justice, morals and politics.
Local Note eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - North America
Subject Hume, David, 1711-1776. Treatise of human nature.
Treatise of human nature (Hume, David)
Knowledge, Theory of.
Knowledge, Theory of.
Emotions (Philosophy)
Emotions (Philosophy)
Ethics.
Ethics.
Social psychology.
Social psychology.
Genre/Form Electronic books.
Other Form: Print version: Finlay, Christopher (Christopher J.). Hume's social philosophy. London ; New York : Continuum, ©2007 9780826491626 (DLC) 2007002165 (OCoLC)80180442
ISBN 9781441137579 (electronic book)
1441137572 (electronic book)
9780826491626
0826491626