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This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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In his seminal Philosophy of David Hume (1941), Norman Kemp Smith called for a study of Hume 'in all his manifold activities: as philosopher, as political theorist, as economist, as historian, and as man of letters,' indicating that 'Hume's philosophy, as the attitude of mind that found for itself these various forms of expression, will then have been presented, adequately and in due perspective, for the first time.' Claudia Schmidt seeks to address this long-standing need in Hume scholarship. Against the charges that Hume holds no consistent philosophical position, offers no constructive account of rationality, and sees no positive relation between philosophy and other areas of inquiry, Schmidt argues for the overall coherence of Hume's thought as a study of 'reason in history.' She develops this interpretation by tracing Hume's constructive account of human cognition and its historical dimension as a unifying theme across the full range of his writings. Hume, she shows, provides a positive account of the ways in which our concepts, beliefs, emotions, and standards of judgment in different areas of inquiry are shaped by experience, both in the personal history of the individual and in the life of a community. This book is valuable at many levels: for students, as an introduction to Hume's writings and issues in their interpretation; for Hume specialists, as a unified and intriguing interpretation of his thought; for philosophers generally, as a synthesis of recent developments in Hume scholarship; and for scholars in other disciplines, as a guide to Hume's contributions to their own fields. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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From the jungles of Vietnam, where he shot a photo of "the loneliness and desolation of war" that won a Pulitzer Prize, to the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton, David Hume Kennerly witnessed and photographed most of the history-making moments of the last third of the twentieth century. As the millennium turned and he set out to cover his eighth presidential campaign, however, the veteran photojournalist sensed something missing. In his words, "I had the uneasy feeling that I couldn't focus only on the story at hand while bypassing the texture of life that surrounds it. . . . This time I wouldn't speed across that covered bridge to get to the big event on the other side, but instead I would slow down a bit, maybe even pause to take a picture of the bridge." Photo du Jour is Kennerly's visual diary of "the texture of life" at the start of the twenty-first century. As he traveled more than a quarter of a million miles across thirty-eight states and seven countries, Kennerly took a picture every single day in the year 2000, using just one camera and one lens. Some offer candid, behind-the-scenes glimpses of the men who would be president--John McCain, Al Gore, and George W. Bush. Most of the photographs, though, seek to capture not the big, historic moments but rather the ordinary, even whimsical moments when the essence of a person or a place reveals itself to the observer who takes the time and has the heart to really see. Travel with him from Beijing to Boston, Moose to Miami, and Whynot to Weimea in Photo du Jour, and you'll quickly discover that David Kennerly is just such an observer. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Deserves more reviews
This book deserves more reviews. I purchased it when first came out eight years ago and from time to time I revisit for the sheer honesty of capturing slices of mostly urban life in the midst of presidential campaign. When a contemporary photographer can complete such a project like this and dare to produce a book ofall monochrome photos, I think that says a lot for his dedication, style, skills, and commitment to the craft. So many of the images we see in Kennerly's book are ones that depict what many of us see and walk pass everyday of our lives. But Kennerly took the time to stop and capture precious moments that we too often ignore.

I also want to add this book of course is a treat for serious photographers. Each image is well composed and processed. There's lots to learn from how Kennerly frames a photo and what he choose to leave in and out when makes a shot.

I realize that the book was published years ago, but I think it's timeless and deserves a lot more attention.

Photo edit of the day
Maybe my expectations are over the top, maybe I know more than the average joe/jane when it comes to photography, or maybe I just got the whole idea of this book wrong.Whatever the reason, David Hume Kennerly's Photo du Jour is nothing more than a document of his time and access throughout 2000.For some reason, I got the idea in my head that here was a photojournalist going to lug around an extra Leica and only shoot one image a day with it.How would he choose and at 11:59PM would there be regrets over the shot passed up for the possibility of another later in the day that never presented its self?I really wanted this guy to only have ten rolls of 135-36 for the project- I wanted this to be the photo equivalent to Zen in the Art of Archery.I obviously got it wrong.Another thing that gets me about this book is how it is promoted ie. Rosenthal saying "one camera and one lens".Again, all of the conceptual limitations on this project that never materialized!If you are shooting a 21mm on an M body, setting the hyper focal distance around 5ft. and using f8 you are basically good from 2ft to infinity.Fine, understandable and I love wide angles on 35mm format but then you go a crop the image!!!!!This is my biggest jab at the book, if you are going to say one camera, one lens be photographer enough to print the FULL FRAME!I guess if you spend you life getting paid to "get the shot", you learn to shoot it close and wide and then crop what you want later.Some images in this book look like 6x7, some 135-36, and some 6x9 or even a Panavision 16:9 so again, where is the skill/discipline?The fishing equivalent would be using dynamite.The book is what it is and unfortunately is billed as something else.Howard Fineman states in the introduction that this book shows Kennerly in an "uncharacteristic mode" and says this puts him "effortlessly" in league with the likes of Evans, Smith, and Robert Frank...........Please don't insult my intelligence or these photographers.The sophomoric juxtaposition on pages 142-143 is a Photo 1 shark jump that sounded like "badap bumb".Maybe all the text and praise from a Winogrand, Cartier-Bresson, or a Davidson book got mixed up with the images in this one.More hype than hypo. With all that said, the book is beautifully bound a put together.The reproductions are clear, well printed and maintain an elegance and crispness that is not out there in many books today.If you are interested in a slice of time kind of document and are just plain addicted to looking at images, then you should be happy with this book.If you are at all knowledgeable of the work of Winogrand, Cartier-Bresson, Davidson, Friedlander (there is a lame rip off on Like a One-Eyed Cat in du Jour page 156) or even Eggleston in a color version, you may be disappointed in the cost/benefit analysis as I was.I can't remember his exact words but Duane Michals said it best- (paraphrasing)- many photographers shoot hundreds of shots hoping, amidst all of the confusion, to come up with an interesting image...but the difference between the artist and the photographer, is a sense of control.I will keep this book, shelve it with a ton of Magnum issues, and I am sure pull it down once a year or so and flip though it because that's what I do. This could have been brilliant both conceptually and perceptually but end the end, just another guy with a camera and access.

Exquisite
This book is a must have. At the Texas Book Festival (2002) this book caught my eye. Never heard of the photographer before but the book was exquisite: filled with stunning black and white pictures. Pictures of everyday things. Of people laughing, of streets and events - capturing the magic moments without a pose.It was a simple concept: One camera. One lens. One year. The results are photos that also capture the routine, sometimes humorous and often extraordinary moments of everyday life. ... Read more

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In this book the author offers a critical analysis of David Hume's argument against miracles from his "Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding," "Of Miracles" is one of the most influential works written in defense of the position that belief in supernatural occurrences is not reasonable. Using Hume's work as a point of departure, the author addresses the two most important epistemological questions asked about miracles: Is it ever reasonable to ascribe a divine source to an anomalous event in order to identify it as miraculous? and What theoretically entails sufficient evidence that a miracle has actually taken place? Contemporary rehabilitations of Hume's argument, as put forth by Antony Flew, Alastair McKinnon, and Patrick Nowell-Smith, are evaluated. Contents: Defining the Miraculous; Hume's Argument, "Part 1;" "Hume's Argument, "Part 2;" "The Rationality of Belief and the Existence of God; Contemporary Rehabilitations of Hume's Argument;" and "Miracles and Evidence." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

A nice approach to a badly overrated argument
I'm afraid the previous reviewers have failed to understand what is really a clearly-written book. Beckwith's negative argument against Hume is this: Hume offers an in-fact argument and an in-principle argument against the possibility of miracles. The former claims that there isn't (in fact) enough evidence to support a miracle claim, while the latter goes further: there _couldn't_ ever be sufficient evidence for a miracle. Beckwith rightly points out that the latter version is simply question-begging, but agrees with the spirit of the in-fact objection: one needs significant evidence to take a miracle claim seriously.

Most of the rest of the book takes up this challenge. A miracle claim is much less implausible against a theistic background, so Beckwith first offers a carefully-presented argument for God's existence. Only then does he offer a developed argument for a particular miracle claim, that of the Resurrection of Jesus.

Obviously, as with any topic of interest, much more can be said on the issues Beckwith discusses; indeed, even the arguments he employs have been subject to much debate in the dozen or so years since his book came out. But I fail to see that he has made any straightforward methodological errors, contra cwyoung.

As for Deepak Gupta's terse dismissal, however, one is reminded of the dreary anti-religious chauvinism of an earlier time, highlighted by the false dilemma between philosophy and apologetics. As for the "strong" arguments Beckwith allegedly "evades", it seems that Gupta is confusing this with a textbook. Of course Beckwith should - and _does_ - deal with objections to the positive arguments he does make; to blame him for not responding to every possible objection, germane or not, is not to understand how books are written.

Finally, Gupta's remark that there is "little that would be convincing absent an a priori acceptance of theistic premises" is just a rhetorical trick. As mentioned above, Beckwith devotes significant space to arguing for the existence of God; it is by no means assumed. Gupta may not like the argument, or its conclusion, but the book provides the reader with a substantive defense of theism.

In conclusion: there are other, more recent and/or more thorough works of Christian apologetics, but this is a worthwhile effort and a nice, sympathetic treatment of Hume's argument (and that of some of its successors as well). Not a must-buy, but a good book, well-worth getting for those interested in a theistic response to Hume. (The price is rather steep for its size, though, so get it used.)

A nice approach to a badly overrated argument
I'm afraid the previous reviewers have failed to understand what is really a clearly-written book. Beckwith's negative argument against Hume is this: Hume offers an in-fact argument and an in-principle argument against the possibility of miracles. The former claims that there isn't (in fact) enough evidence to support a miracle claim, while the latter goes further: there _couldn't_ ever be sufficient evidence for a miracle. Beckwith rightly points out that the latter version is simply question-begging, but agrees with the spirit of the in-fact objection: one needs significant evidence to take a miracle claim seriously.

Most of the rest of the book takes up this challenge. A miracle claim is much less implausible against a theistic background, so Beckwith first offers a carefully-presented argument for God's existence. Only then does he offer a developed argument for a particular miracle claim, that of the Resurrection of Jesus.

Obviously, as with any topic of interest, much more can be said on the issues Beckwith discusses; indeed, even the arguments he employs have been subject to much debate in the dozen or so years since his book came out. But I fail to see that he has made any straightforward methodological errors, contra cwyoung.

As for Deepak Gupta's terse dismissal, however, one is reminded of the dreary anti-religious chauvinism of an earlier time, highlighted by the false dilemma between philosophy and apologetics. As for the "strong" arguments Beckwith allegedly "evades", it seems that Gupta is confusing this with a textbook. Of course Beckwith should - and _does_ - deal with objections to the positive arguments he does make; to blame him for not responding to every possible objection, germane or not, is not to understand how books are written.

Finally, Gupta's remark that there is "little that would be convincing absent an a priori acceptance of theistic premises" is just a rhetorical trick. As mentioned above, Beckwith devotes significant space to arguing for the existence of God; it is by no means assumed. Gupta may not like the argument, or its conclusion, but the book provides the reader with a substantive defense of theism.

In conclusion: there are other, more recent and/or more thorough works of Christian apologetics, but this is a worthwhile effort and a nice, sympathetic treatment of Hume's argument (and that of some of its successors as well). Not a must-buy, but a good book, well-worth getting for those interested in a theistic response to Hume. (The price is rather steep for its size, though, so get it used.)

Apologetics disguised as philosophy
This book, a modified version of the author's philosophy doctoral thesis, is actually a text of Christian apologetics.It steadfastly evades strong empirical arguments which would successfully overcome its position andultimately provides little that would be convincing absent an a prioriacceptance of theistic premises.

Francis Beckwith's Argument Against Hume: A Flawed Analysis
It's probably deeply unfair to criticise work that is over a decade old. However, Beckwith's profile on other issues requires some critical comment. If I understand the core argument of this doctoral thesis correctly,Beckwith argues that as there is no absolute certainty that there may havebeen some violation of scientific laws, then David Hume's objection tomiracles as events thattransgress an otherwise orderly universe is not avalid one. However, I would make a Lockean objection to this- Beckwith mustconverselyassert that there is independent verification ofthis claimthat there were singular historical events that transgressed scientificlaws, but he fails to do so. Moreover, why not submit any evidence aboutmiracles to professional standards of analysis? I would also note that hissection on evidence carefully avoids any discussion about theinterpretation of forensic evidence. Sorry, but [in my opinion] Beckwith has notestablished the case for belief in miracles outside an a priori acceptanceof claims that the Bible is a wholly authenticdocument. I do not denythat there was an historical entity named Jesus, but in the absence of anyindependent empirical verification thatmiracles and faith claims aretrue, why should I accept the absence of empirical evidence that is basedon professional verification as satisfactory? ...
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In Four Volumes. ... Read more

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This is the first new scholarly edition this century of one of the greatest works in the history of philosophy, David Hume's Enquiry concerning Human Understanding. It is the third volume of the Clarendon Hume Edition, which will be the definitive edition for the foreseeable future. In this work Hume gives an elegant and accessible presentation of strikingly original and challenging views. The distinguished Hume scholar Tom Beauchamp presents an authoritative text accompanied by an introduction, annotation, a glossary, biographical sketches, bibliographies, and indexes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Hume at his best
David Hume was perhaps the leading light in the Empiricist movement in philosophy. Empiricism is seen in distinction from Rationalism, in that it doubts the viability of universal principles (rational or otherwise), and uses sense data as the basis of all knowledge - experience is the source of knowledge. Hume was a skeptic as well as empiricist, and had radical (for the time) atheist ideas that often got in the way of his professional advancement, but given his reliance on experience (and the kinds of experiences he had), his problem with much that was considered conventional was understandable.

Hume's major work, 'A Treatise of Human Nature', was not well received intially - according to Hume, 'it fell dead-born from the press'. Hume reworked the first part of this work in a more popular way for this text, which has become a standard, and perhaps the best introduction to Empiricism.

In a nutshell, the idea of empiricism is that experience teaches, and rules and understanding are derived from this. However, for Hume this wasn't sufficient. Just because billiard balls when striking always behave in a certain manner, or just because the sun always rose in the morning, there was no direct causal connection that could be automatically affirmed - we assume a necessary connection, but how can this be proved?

Hume's ideas impact not only metaphysics, but also epistemology and psychology. Hume develops empiricism to a point that empiricism is practically unsupportable (and it is in this regard that Kant sees this text as a very important piece, and works toward his synthesis of Empiricism and Rationalism). For Hume, empirical thought requires skepticism, but leaves it unresolved as far as what one then needs to accept with regard to reason and understanding. According to scholar Eric Steinberg, 'A view that pervades nearly all of Hume's philosophical writings is that both ancient and modern philosophers have been guilty of optimistic and exaggerated claims for the power of human reason.'

Some have seen Hume as presenting a fundamental mistrust of daily belief while recognising that we cannot escape from some sort of framework; others have seen Hume as working toward a more naturalist paradigm of human understanding. In fact, Hume is open to a number of different interpretations, and these different interpretations have been taken up by subsequent philosphers to develop areas of synthetic philosophical ideas, as well as further developments more directly out of Empiricism (such as Phenomenology).

The text of Hume is in fact a rather short book, a mere 100 pages or so in many editions (it is about 120 in this edition). As a primer for understanding Hume, the British Empiricists (who include Hobbes, Locke, and Berkeley), as well as the major philosphical concerns of the eighteenth century, this is a great text with which to start.

Editor Tom. L. Beauchamp has provided an extensive section of annotations (over half as long as the Hume's text itself), as well as generous section on variations and emendations.There are several different indexes, a worthwhile glossary, a biographical section and good list of references.For those who want to get into this text in great depth, this is the edition to be had.
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Contents: Introduction, Sir Ernest Barker; An Essay Concerning the True Original, Extent and End of Civil Government, John Locke; Of the Original Contract, David Hume; The Social Contract, J.J. Rousseau. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Not enough background annotation
This are great works important in the history of political philosophy. But this particular edition does not give as many footnotes as it should, to explain refrences to Classical literature, and certain Latin phrases that students of today may not be familiar with. Still, it combiners three influentional political essays in one covenient volume. ... Read more

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Sympathy, we shall allow, is much fainter than our concern for ourselves, and sympathy with persons remote from us much fainter than that with persons near and contiguous; but for this very reason it is necessary for us, in our calm judgments and discourse concerning the characters of men, to neglect all these differences and render our sentiments more public and social. -from "Why Utility Pleases"

David Hume may well be the most significant philosopher ever to write in the English language: his arguments dramatically influenced both scientific and religious thinking, and much of what he wrote-particular concerning free will, political theory, and religion-still sounds startlingly modern. Hume himself called this "incomparably the best" of all his many writings.

First published in 1751, it is an astonishing consideration of source and value of the feelings, thoughts, and actions we call "morality," and it is required reading for anyone who calls himself educated. ... Read more

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Reason is the slave of the passions
I read this book for a graduate seminar on ethics.Hume's An Enquiry Concerning The Principles Of Morals (EPM)along with his staunch empirical approach to epistemology, has garnered him recognition as a "great skeptic" of the rationalist tradition in philosophy and recognition as the greatest philosopher to write in English.Hume's ethical project is concerned with discovering how people's nature dictates moral behavior and in discovering the moral virtues that society deems useful.Hume separates himself from the classical Greek notion of how an agent acts virtuously when he posits his thesis that people are incapable of using reason to sway their emotions or substantially influence their wills.Hume's theory regarding the process that agents use to act is a departure from the classical Greek model in that it relies on passion and is devoid of the idea of using practical reasoning to overcome feelings of fear to accomplish a noble end.For Hume, only a person's passions can choose their ends, and he denies that reason has the ability to evaluate their ends. Hume's notions on reason vastly contradicts the vast majority of ancient and modern philosophers' beliefs, regarding the amalgamation of human emotion and reason producing the practical reasoning to guide an agent to act.

Hume's anti-rationalist assertion that reason cannot be the major factor producing moral action provides the foundation for his entire ethical theory.In essence, Hume uses a causality argument to explain virtues and vices and what motivates people to make moral choices.Hume argues that what moves people are sentiments of pleasure, such as, pride or love, or pain, such as humility or hatred, as they either observe actions by others or contemplate performing acts of their own.Hume adopts a subjective view to morality.He argues that one cannot use reason or science to deduce "truths" in ethics.Actions are deemed virtuous by a particular society through judgments of approval or distaste of people's sentiments when observing or contemplating a particular action.With this ethical model, Hume posits the notion that there are only two types of virtues, "natural" and "artificial," and that courage is a natural virtue since it brings the pleasurable sentiment of praise and pride to the one who acts courageously.Hume leaves very little if any room for reason to either direct the people will, or even work in conjunction with people passions or emotions to form any kind of practical reasoning a person can rely on to guide them on a path to ethical behavior.

Hume presents a four-point catalogue of sentiments in his EPM that he thinks comprise virtues, and they are similar to Descartes' list of passions.In fact, like Descartes' descriptions of his passions, Hume's descriptions of the virtues are done in a similar vain and take up the bulk of the book.Hume's virtue of courage is found in section seven of the EPM under his third category entitled, Qualities immediately agreeable to ourselves.Hume describes this third category of sentiments as a list of personal merits, "...which is useful or agreeable to the person himself or to others, communicates a pleasure to the spectators, engages his esteem, and is admitted under the honourable denomination of virtue or merit." (EPM, 2. 1. 9. 12). Hume states that, "The utility of COURAGE, both to the public and to the person possessed of it, is an obvious foundation of merit."This opening line in Hume's description is not counter to the classical Greek ideal of courage.(EPM, 2. 1. 7. 11). Hume goes on to state, "But to anyone who duly considers of the matter, it will appear, that this quality has a peculiar luster, which it derives wholly from itself, and from that noble elevation inseparable from it."(EPM, 2. 1. 7. 11).This line in Hume's description describes courage more in line with the ancient Greek notion of courage as depicted in Homer's Iliad.This is borne out in Hume's last line of his description wherein he writes, "Its (courage)figure, drawn by painters and by poets, displays, in each feature, a sublimity and daring confidence; which catches the eye, engages the affections, and diffuses, by sympathy, a like sublimity of sentiment over every spectator." (EPM, 2. 1. 7. 11).

I find it interesting that Hume is the first philosopher since the classical Greeks to recognize, whether for good or bad, the influence the arts play on people's passions and its effects on their actions; particularly in regards to the virtue of courage.In addition, Hume, who during his lifetime enjoyed a reputation as a historian of great renown, uses examples from history to explain in his EPM how the virtue of courage has favorably worked on people's passions.For example, he writes that, "The martial temper of the Romans, enflamed by continual wars, had raised their esteem of courage so high, that, in their language, it was called virtue, by way of excellence and distinction from all other moral qualities."(EPM, 2. 1. 7. 13). Once again, Hume addresses artistic influence in undeveloped cultures, including the Homeric era in Greece, "...who have not, as yet, had full experience of the advantages attending beneficence, justice, and the social virtues, courage is the predominant excellence; what is most celebrated by poets, recommended by parents, and instructors, and admired by the public in general."EPM, 134, (EPM, 2. 1. 7. 15). Even classical Greek philosophers commented on this phenomenon.Aristotle in his Poetics, observes and accepts the notion that the depiction of tragic heroes on stage greatly influences the Greek understanding of courage.On the other hand, Plato, in his Republic, railed against Greek tragedy as a pernicious influence arguing that Greeks should be influenced by reason and not their passions.This is why Plato was so careful to point out that the Guardians of the city had to be taught the right type of literature to develop their courage.

Hume's historically rich description of the virtue of courage and how it is a virtue of passion with little if any influence from reason, shows the evolutionary change for the virtue of courage is a stark break from all the previous philosophers.'.Hume leaves very little if any room for reason to either direct the people will, or even work in conjunction with people passions or emotions to form any kind of practical reasoning a person can rely on to guide them on a path to ethical behavior.

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This brief text assists students in understanding Hume's philosophy and thinking so that they can more fully engage in useful, intelligent class dialogue and improve their understanding of course content. Part of the "Wadsworth Philosophers Series," (which will eventually consist of approximately 100 titles, each focusing on a single "thinker" from ancient times to the present), ON HUME is written by a philosopher deeply versed in the philosophy of this key thinker. Like other books in the series, this concise book offers sufficient insight into the thinking of a notable philosopher better enabling students to engage in the reading and to discuss the material in class and on paper. ... Read more

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Originally published in 1907.This volume from the Cornell University Library's print collections was scanned on an APT BookScan and converted to JPG 2000 format by Kirtas Technologies.All titles scanned cover to cover and pages may include marks notations and other marginalia present in the original volume. ... Read more

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"The student (Penelhum) introduces to Hume will be much in his debt". -- Canadian Philosophical Reviews ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Very good
David Hume is my favorite philosopher. This book is a great introduction to his thoughts and ideas. Its easy to understand and entails most of his important philosophical systems... Some people consider Hume to be the most important philosopher to write in English, also some people regard David Hume as a trailblazer to modern atheism... He also inspired Kant.. ... Read more

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"David Hume (1711-76) is one of the greatest figures in the history of British philosophy. Of all of Hume's writings, the philosophically most profound is undoubtedly his first, A Treatise of Human Nature. Of the three books that make up the Treatise, the first, in which he outlines the epistemology and metaphysics underpinning his system, is universally acknowledged to be his greatest intellectual achievement."--BOOK JACKET. "Hume on Knowledge thus provides us with a map to Book 1 of the Treatise and sets out its principal ideas and arguments in a clear and readable way. This book will enable any reader coming to the Treatise for the first time easily to understand the importance of and intricacies inherent in Hume's thought."--BOOK JACKET. ... Read more

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This important new monograph presents a non-sceptical outlook on Hume's "Treatise" by analysing the hitherto neglected role of the belief in other minds. The problem of other minds has widely been considered as a special problem within the debate about scepticism. If one cannot be sure that there is a world existing independently of one's mind, how can we be sure that there are minds - minds which we cannot even experience the way we experience material objects? This book shows, through a detailed examination of David Hume's "A Treatise of Human Nature", that these concerns are unfounded. By focusing on Hume's discussion of sympathy - the ability to connect with the mental contents of other persons - Anik Waldow demonstrates that belief in other minds can be justified by the same means as belief in material objects. The book thus not only provides the first large-scale treatment of the function of the belief in other minds within the "Treatise", thereby adding a new dimension to Hume's realism, but also serves as an invaluable guide to the complexity of the problem of other minds and its various responses in contemporary debate. ... Read more