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Print Price: $111.50

Format:
Paperback
288 pp.
156 mm x 234 mm

ISBN-13:
9780199571536

Publication date:
September 2009

Imprint: OUP UK

David Hume

Moral and Political Theorist

Russell Hardin

Russell Hardin presents a new explication of David Hume's moral and political theory. With Hume, he holds that our normative views can be scientifically explained but they cannot be justified as true. Hume argued for the psychological basis of such views. In particular, he argued for sympathy as the mirroring of the psychological sensations and emotions of others. By placing Hume in the developing tradition of social science, as a strong forerunner of his younger friend Adam Smith, Hardin demonstrates Hume's strong strategic sense, his nascent utilitarianism, his powerful theory of convention as a main source of social and political order, and his recognition of moral and political theory as a single enterprise.

Readership : Scholars and students of ethics, political theory, and the history of moral and political thought.

Preface
1. Hume's Place in History
2. Moral Psychology
3. Strategic Analysis
4. Convention
5. Political Theory
6. Justice As Order
7. Utilitarianism
8. Value Theory
9. Retrospective
References
Endnotes

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Russell Hardin is Professor of Politics at New York University.

Making Sense - Margot Northey and Joan McKibbin

Special Features

Controversial treatment of Hume's moral and political philosophy.
Examines Hume's major accomplishments in the light of current political theory; highlights his continuing value and relevance.
Hardin is one of the world's leading political philosophers.