New Essays on David Hume presents a collection of contributions from eminent scholars who cover a... more New Essays on David Hume presents a collection of contributions from eminent scholars who cover a wide range of Humean topics: philosophy, politics, religion and history. The volume is divided into four sections. The first opens with the question of naturalism and closes with scepticism. Moral philosophy is at the heart of the second section, which also deals with the relation between Hume and Hutcheson. The third spans from the History of England and how it was appropriated by de Maistre and Constant, to the American reception of Hume's work and its connection with American deism. The last section is devoted to the presentation of recent Humeana: the new scholarly edition of the Treatise and two edited volumes on Hume and on his European reception.
2 * Abstract: Grey-blue eyes and a fixed look: Is he a philosopher or a dumb ox? Hume's eyes ... more 2 * Abstract: Grey-blue eyes and a fixed look: Is he a philosopher or a dumb ox? Hume's eyes and face are trifle which can lead us into some curiosities connected with his life and writings. Looking through Hume's eyes, we can outline the scholars' propen- sity to describe the (painted) face of their favourite philosopher and spread upon it their reading of his work. We can ask questions about portraits and resemblance as a standard of beauty. We can survey the eighteenth-century sentiments on physiog- nomy, and the paradox of the "fat philosopher", at once, both clumsy and refined. We can inquire into Hume's use of physiognomic descriptions, his account of cor- pulence and his own vacant look. We can observe how far Ramsay's theory of a just graceful resemblance was put into practice in the dispute between Rousseau and Hume, and how the portraits were part of it. We can outline the role the eyes play in the body of Hume's work. Finally, we can recall his aversion to "the prefixing a Print of the Author" and remember that the picture which he deemed "the likest", as well as "the best Likeness", has now disappeared. Yet, there remains something which is still engraved. Subjects: Hume; Modern Philosophy (16th Century-18th Century); Painting
Pà-pa-pa-pà – ta-ra-ta-ra-tà ta-ra-ta-ra-tà – Pa-pà-pa-pà. Tromba – Tamburo – Tromba. Iniziava co... more Pà-pa-pa-pà – ta-ra-ta-ra-tà ta-ra-ta-ra-tà – Pa-pà-pa-pà. Tromba – Tamburo – Tromba. Iniziava così, con la marcia funebre per la regina Maria, ma questo lo sapevano in pochi. Era Radiomemento, che qualcuno un po' meno preciso chiamava Radiosepoltura (le cremazioni divampavano ovunque) e qualcun altro un po' più didascalico Radiodevimorire (il mondo è una curva da stadio). E iniziava ogni giorno alle sei del mattino. Erano quelli che molti dicevano «tempi di coronavirus», pensando di dire qualcosa di più di ciò che dicevano, cioè i primi mesi della pandemia di Sars-Cov-2; e di pandemia si trattava davvero, perché l'OMS, per gli anglofoni WHO (non chiedetemi chi), aveva dichiarato così. Ovunque se ne leggevano i segni. Pipistrelli cinesi selvatici del genere unico dei Rinolofidi volavano alti sotto le nuvole e invisibili sopra di noi, scaricandoci addosso quell'acido ribonucleico che sembrava corona, ma solo con l'occhio del microscopio. Con l'arrivo del Betac...
David Hume seems to receive several stereotypes and commonplace sentiments about China regarding ... more David Hume seems to receive several stereotypes and commonplace sentiments about China regarding its religion, national character, government, practices and economy, that he goes on to dismantle. Doing so, he allows the eighteenth-century reader to look at China from a different perspective. This perspective can still be useful especially today, when the “immense distance” between China and Europe has been reduced and, as Hume would say, almost everything we use is Chinese. In the name of an ambivalent European tradition, we are often inclined to revive these commonplace sentiments (for example, the uniformity of Chinese character) and neglect that part of our own tradition that tries to understand what is behind them and that also offers us the tools to go beyond them. This study endeavors to assemble an array of Hume’s scattered remarks, consider them in their context, and explore their possible sources in order to obtain not only a more Humean China, but also a more Chinese Hume.
«Greek Love is a modern invention», asserts the classical scholar. David Hume can claim the title... more «Greek Love is a modern invention», asserts the classical scholar. David Hume can claim the title of inventor. In his 1751 Dialogue on morals he used the phrase to account for the relationship between a university boy and a man of merit. How did Hume come to this expression? Pederasty was a traditional sceptical topic against a universal standard for morals. What did Hume think of this practice and its origin? When he accounts for pederasty and homosocial arrangements by negative epithets, is Hume seriously condemning them or he is «only» and prudentially following the common use? The Article tries to give a first answer to these questions by examining Hume's writings and their sources (Plato, Plutarch, Cornelius Nepos and Cicero), and the views of the modern authors (Hobbes, Mandeville, Montesquieu, Charlemont, Smollet and Voltaire). The Article delineates the eighteenth-century debate, without projecting on it our views, and maintains that, like some ancient philosophers according to Sextus Empricus, and possibly like Smith, Hume would have declared practice in itself «indifferent».
Plants-Nations have very different characters in different countries or in different ages in the ... more Plants-Nations have very different characters in different countries or in different ages in the same country; like wines, in every terroir they have a particular taste and always preserve it, though some years are better than others. Everything depends upon the air and its qualities. It is a home air, but it is not always the same. National characters are the product of a (changeable) balance between identity and diversity, permanent general elements and variations in time. Jean-Baptiste Du Bos’ Réflexions critiques sur la poésie et sur la peinture, first published in 1719, attempt to keep this balance and present themselves as an indispensable reading for those who want to discuss national characters and their causes even in 1748, when Montesquieu published the Esprit des lois and Hume Of National Characters.
There cannot be three passions “more nearly resembling each other” than philosophy, hunting, and ... more There cannot be three passions “more nearly resembling each other” than philosophy, hunting, and gaming, asserts Hume in the Treatise. Their origin is pleasure and they all give pleasure from the same principles: the exercise of the mind, utility or importance and success. This scandalous assertion is strictly connected with Hume’s discussion of the philosophical tradition. Once more he entitles himself to the glorious name of inventor for “the use he makes” of traditional metaphors. The assertion is also connected with Hume’s own life: hunter, gamester and (sceptical) philosopher. Hume fires at magpies, as a boy; he plays whist, when he’s grown up; he loves truth, always. His fame as a whist player will accompany him in the afterlife. Smith remembers that, even in his last days, he continued to “divert” himself, “as usual”, with an evening “party at his favourite game of whist”; Reverend Horne blames Hume for this same reason and Smith for remembering it; and the poet Thomson light...
At the end of 1765 Morellet wrote to Hume: «I send you 3 copies of my translation of the book de’... more At the end of 1765 Morellet wrote to Hume: «I send you 3 copies of my translation of the book de’ delitti». A few days afterwards he informed Beccaria that Hume «desires me to tell you one thousand things for him». To justify his translation Morellet appeals to Hume’s authority: he «read the original and the translation with great care» and «approved of my freedom in translating it». In his works and letters Hume never mentions Beccaria: what about the «one thousand things» that he is supposed to have told Morellet about Dei delitti? Were they close to those that Ramsay mentioned to Diderot? What did Hume think about the theory of original contract and the abolishment of capital punishment?
Paris, Reims and La Fleche in the 30s. Paris in 1748. Again, Paris in the 60s. Hume is always loo... more Paris, Reims and La Fleche in the 30s. Paris in 1748. Again, Paris in the 60s. Hume is always looking at himself in the French mirror: the first philosophical readings, the French translations of his own writings (in 1761 the French translation of the Philosophical Essay earns him a place in the Index Librorum Prohibitorum), the Embassy, the Court, the Great Ladies (and Madame de Boufflers) and the Philosophes (and Rousseau). In 1745 Hume first declares the intention to retire to the south of France. A few months before dying, in his autobiography, he remembers the “real satisfaction” in living at Paris: “I thought once of settling there for life”. Especially because in Paris, he writes, they “consider me as one of the greatest geniuses in the world”. In this piece we account for Hume’s life, places and connections (Diderot, d’Holbach and Sterne) as philosopher-Secretary to the Embassy of Lord Hertford in 1763-1766. We also account for the differences between Hume and his French phi...
New Essays on David Hume presents a collection of contributions from eminent scholars who cover a... more New Essays on David Hume presents a collection of contributions from eminent scholars who cover a wide range of Humean topics: philosophy, politics, religion and history. The volume is divided into four sections. The first opens with the question of naturalism and closes with scepticism. Moral philosophy is at the heart of the second section, which also deals with the relation between Hume and Hutcheson. The third spans from the History of England and how it was appropriated by de Maistre and Constant, to the American reception of Hume's work and its connection with American deism. The last section is devoted to the presentation of recent Humeana: the new scholarly edition of the Treatise and two edited volumes on Hume and on his European reception.
2 * Abstract: Grey-blue eyes and a fixed look: Is he a philosopher or a dumb ox? Hume's eyes ... more 2 * Abstract: Grey-blue eyes and a fixed look: Is he a philosopher or a dumb ox? Hume's eyes and face are trifle which can lead us into some curiosities connected with his life and writings. Looking through Hume's eyes, we can outline the scholars' propen- sity to describe the (painted) face of their favourite philosopher and spread upon it their reading of his work. We can ask questions about portraits and resemblance as a standard of beauty. We can survey the eighteenth-century sentiments on physiog- nomy, and the paradox of the "fat philosopher", at once, both clumsy and refined. We can inquire into Hume's use of physiognomic descriptions, his account of cor- pulence and his own vacant look. We can observe how far Ramsay's theory of a just graceful resemblance was put into practice in the dispute between Rousseau and Hume, and how the portraits were part of it. We can outline the role the eyes play in the body of Hume's work. Finally, we can recall his aversion to "the prefixing a Print of the Author" and remember that the picture which he deemed "the likest", as well as "the best Likeness", has now disappeared. Yet, there remains something which is still engraved. Subjects: Hume; Modern Philosophy (16th Century-18th Century); Painting
Pà-pa-pa-pà – ta-ra-ta-ra-tà ta-ra-ta-ra-tà – Pa-pà-pa-pà. Tromba – Tamburo – Tromba. Iniziava co... more Pà-pa-pa-pà – ta-ra-ta-ra-tà ta-ra-ta-ra-tà – Pa-pà-pa-pà. Tromba – Tamburo – Tromba. Iniziava così, con la marcia funebre per la regina Maria, ma questo lo sapevano in pochi. Era Radiomemento, che qualcuno un po' meno preciso chiamava Radiosepoltura (le cremazioni divampavano ovunque) e qualcun altro un po' più didascalico Radiodevimorire (il mondo è una curva da stadio). E iniziava ogni giorno alle sei del mattino. Erano quelli che molti dicevano «tempi di coronavirus», pensando di dire qualcosa di più di ciò che dicevano, cioè i primi mesi della pandemia di Sars-Cov-2; e di pandemia si trattava davvero, perché l'OMS, per gli anglofoni WHO (non chiedetemi chi), aveva dichiarato così. Ovunque se ne leggevano i segni. Pipistrelli cinesi selvatici del genere unico dei Rinolofidi volavano alti sotto le nuvole e invisibili sopra di noi, scaricandoci addosso quell'acido ribonucleico che sembrava corona, ma solo con l'occhio del microscopio. Con l'arrivo del Betac...
David Hume seems to receive several stereotypes and commonplace sentiments about China regarding ... more David Hume seems to receive several stereotypes and commonplace sentiments about China regarding its religion, national character, government, practices and economy, that he goes on to dismantle. Doing so, he allows the eighteenth-century reader to look at China from a different perspective. This perspective can still be useful especially today, when the “immense distance” between China and Europe has been reduced and, as Hume would say, almost everything we use is Chinese. In the name of an ambivalent European tradition, we are often inclined to revive these commonplace sentiments (for example, the uniformity of Chinese character) and neglect that part of our own tradition that tries to understand what is behind them and that also offers us the tools to go beyond them. This study endeavors to assemble an array of Hume’s scattered remarks, consider them in their context, and explore their possible sources in order to obtain not only a more Humean China, but also a more Chinese Hume.
«Greek Love is a modern invention», asserts the classical scholar. David Hume can claim the title... more «Greek Love is a modern invention», asserts the classical scholar. David Hume can claim the title of inventor. In his 1751 Dialogue on morals he used the phrase to account for the relationship between a university boy and a man of merit. How did Hume come to this expression? Pederasty was a traditional sceptical topic against a universal standard for morals. What did Hume think of this practice and its origin? When he accounts for pederasty and homosocial arrangements by negative epithets, is Hume seriously condemning them or he is «only» and prudentially following the common use? The Article tries to give a first answer to these questions by examining Hume's writings and their sources (Plato, Plutarch, Cornelius Nepos and Cicero), and the views of the modern authors (Hobbes, Mandeville, Montesquieu, Charlemont, Smollet and Voltaire). The Article delineates the eighteenth-century debate, without projecting on it our views, and maintains that, like some ancient philosophers according to Sextus Empricus, and possibly like Smith, Hume would have declared practice in itself «indifferent».
Plants-Nations have very different characters in different countries or in different ages in the ... more Plants-Nations have very different characters in different countries or in different ages in the same country; like wines, in every terroir they have a particular taste and always preserve it, though some years are better than others. Everything depends upon the air and its qualities. It is a home air, but it is not always the same. National characters are the product of a (changeable) balance between identity and diversity, permanent general elements and variations in time. Jean-Baptiste Du Bos’ Réflexions critiques sur la poésie et sur la peinture, first published in 1719, attempt to keep this balance and present themselves as an indispensable reading for those who want to discuss national characters and their causes even in 1748, when Montesquieu published the Esprit des lois and Hume Of National Characters.
There cannot be three passions “more nearly resembling each other” than philosophy, hunting, and ... more There cannot be three passions “more nearly resembling each other” than philosophy, hunting, and gaming, asserts Hume in the Treatise. Their origin is pleasure and they all give pleasure from the same principles: the exercise of the mind, utility or importance and success. This scandalous assertion is strictly connected with Hume’s discussion of the philosophical tradition. Once more he entitles himself to the glorious name of inventor for “the use he makes” of traditional metaphors. The assertion is also connected with Hume’s own life: hunter, gamester and (sceptical) philosopher. Hume fires at magpies, as a boy; he plays whist, when he’s grown up; he loves truth, always. His fame as a whist player will accompany him in the afterlife. Smith remembers that, even in his last days, he continued to “divert” himself, “as usual”, with an evening “party at his favourite game of whist”; Reverend Horne blames Hume for this same reason and Smith for remembering it; and the poet Thomson light...
At the end of 1765 Morellet wrote to Hume: «I send you 3 copies of my translation of the book de’... more At the end of 1765 Morellet wrote to Hume: «I send you 3 copies of my translation of the book de’ delitti». A few days afterwards he informed Beccaria that Hume «desires me to tell you one thousand things for him». To justify his translation Morellet appeals to Hume’s authority: he «read the original and the translation with great care» and «approved of my freedom in translating it». In his works and letters Hume never mentions Beccaria: what about the «one thousand things» that he is supposed to have told Morellet about Dei delitti? Were they close to those that Ramsay mentioned to Diderot? What did Hume think about the theory of original contract and the abolishment of capital punishment?
Paris, Reims and La Fleche in the 30s. Paris in 1748. Again, Paris in the 60s. Hume is always loo... more Paris, Reims and La Fleche in the 30s. Paris in 1748. Again, Paris in the 60s. Hume is always looking at himself in the French mirror: the first philosophical readings, the French translations of his own writings (in 1761 the French translation of the Philosophical Essay earns him a place in the Index Librorum Prohibitorum), the Embassy, the Court, the Great Ladies (and Madame de Boufflers) and the Philosophes (and Rousseau). In 1745 Hume first declares the intention to retire to the south of France. A few months before dying, in his autobiography, he remembers the “real satisfaction” in living at Paris: “I thought once of settling there for life”. Especially because in Paris, he writes, they “consider me as one of the greatest geniuses in the world”. In this piece we account for Hume’s life, places and connections (Diderot, d’Holbach and Sterne) as philosopher-Secretary to the Embassy of Lord Hertford in 1763-1766. We also account for the differences between Hume and his French phi...
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