Hume Book

Preface     vii
Introduction: Hume's life and work     1
Hume's life and times     1
Themes and arguments in Hume's philosophy     4
Precursors, influences and effects     13
Hume's theory of the mind     27
The contents of the mind     27
Impressions and ideas     33
The Copy Principle and the missing shade of blue     35
The Copy Principle and empiricism     37
The association of ideas     41
Abstract ideas     43
Hume's theory of thought     52
Causation, induction and necessary connection     55
The grounds of belief and the role of causation     55
The idea of cause     58
The Causal Maxim     60
Inference from the observed to the unobserved     62
The nature and causes of belief     75
The idea of necessary connection     81
The external world     93
The continued and distinct existence of body     93
The vulgar and philosophical forms of the belief in body     95
The causes of the vulgar form of the belief in body: constancy and coherence     102
The role of identity     105
The philosophicalbelief in double existence     109
The self and personal identity     115
The fiction of personal identity     115
The reification of perceptions     119
The rejection of the substantial self     124
Hume's account of the source of the mistake     127
Objections to Hume     130
Morality     139
Project and predecessors     139
Reason and passion     143
Reason and morals     152
Morality and sentiment     159
The virtues     161
The correction of our sentiments     171
Religion     177
Introduction     177
Miracles     181
Natural religion     192
Bibliography     203
Index     209