Hume's Epistemology and Metaphysics: An Introduction

by Georges Dicker

David Hume's Treatise on Human Nature and Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding are amongst the most widely-studies texts on philosophy. Hume's Epistemology and An Introduction presents in a clear, concise and accessible manner the key themes of these texts. Georges Dicker clarifies Hume's views on meaning, knowledge, causality, and sense perception step by step and provides us with a sharp picture of how philosophical thinking has been influenced by Hume. Accessible to anyone coming to Hume for the first time, Hume's Epistemology and Metaphysics is an indispensible guide to Hume's philosophical thinking.

Genres: Philosophy

216 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 26, 1998

Reviews

[Lulu]

History of philosophy, then:

The Evolution of Modern Metaphysics pt. II

Articles from the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (iep.utm.edu):
Frege’s Philosophy of Language,
A Priori and a Posteriori,
Chinese Room Argument,
The Hard Problem of Consciousness,
“The Brain in a Vat” Argument,
Internalism and Externalism in Epistemology, Internalism and Externalism in the Philosophy of Mind and Language,
Theories of Explanation,
The Infinite,
Russell’s Paradox,
Truth,
Scientific Change,
Modal Metphysics.

[Squib · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book expecting a more in depth explanation of Hume's theoretical philosophy, and it certainly was quite complex and I am not sure I have fully grasped everything but this is my first try at reading philosophy. I'll probably spend another week writing up notes from this book to fully digest it.

The book itself is divided into six sections and covers the major points of Hume's theoretical philosophy: 1) Hume's theory of meaning; 2) Hume's theory of knowledge; 3) Hume on causal reasoning; 4) On necessary causation and regularity theory; 5) A critique of the causal principle; and 6) Hume on our belief on the existence of material objects and bodies. In addition, this book will introduce you to the broader, historical context in which Hume was concerned for several pages which is great because it helps to understand Hume's reasoning.

While it does into go into more depth than Mossner's biography of Hume, I felt the book was more focused on modern responses to Hume's philosophy than Hume's philosophy itself or his immediate commentators, making the book feel less of an introduction and more of a collection of scholarly papers. Kant has a few pages allotted to him but comparatively minor scholars are given tens of pages, only to conclude that they failed in their critique of Hume, making it bit of a waste. Conversely, it does show you to how Hume is still relevant to contemporary philosophy and you learn about the doctrines of 20th century analytics like Quine.

It is by no means a bad book and I think it's suitable for it's audience, which are advanced undergraduates. Less suitable for an interested public, though I'd recommend it to them so long as they're committed. Just be prepared to make a lot of notes!