The Vision of Hume

by David Appelbaum

There is no such thing as a rational belief. In all the incidents of life we ought to preserve our scepticism. Humes ideas about the nature of certainty revolutionized Western philosophy. This radical mind discovered a missing step in 18th century thinking and brought to the for an observational awareness that restrains the minds tendency to go beyond actual experience. This fascinating introduction to Humes philosophy with extensive excerpts from his writings offers insights into his theories of causation, impression, innate ideas, personal identity, free choice, ethics, sympathy, justice, religion, and divine design.

Genres: Philosophy

160 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1996

About the author

David Applebaum is a professor of philosophy at State University of New York at New Platz.

Reviews

[Einzige · Rating 3 out of 5]

*rating his work not the Hume excerpts*

A tad gushy as the start but unless you read about serial killers or war criminals that's to be expected with works like this. Gives a clear albeit quite brief overview of Hume's notions of his epistemology - Impressions/Ideas + causation as well as the ethical/moral and religious consequences of his thought.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

David Hume is one of my favorite philosophers. In the first half of this book, Appelbaum tries to explain Hume; the second half includes selections from the jolly skeptic himself. Hume is the better writer, & he has no trouble in getting his own ideas across clearly. I don't always agree w/ Hume, but his logic is inexorable.