Projection and Realism in Hume's Philosophy

In his writings, Hume talks of our 'gilding and staining' natural objects, and of the mind's propensity to 'spread itself' on the world. This has led commentators to use the metaphor of 'projection' in connection with his philosophy: Hume is held to have taught that causal power and self are projections, that God is a projection of our fear, and that value is a projection of sentiment. By considering what it is about Hume's writing that occasions this metaphor, P. J. E. Kail spells out its meaning, the role it plays in Hume's work, and examines how, if at all, what sounds 'projective' in Hume can be reconciled with what sounds 'realist'. In addition to offering some highly original readings of Hume's central ideas, Projection and Realism in Hume's Philosophy offers a detailed examination of the notion of projection and the problems it faces.

ISBN 0199575657   Pages 304 ISBN13 9780199575657 (What's this?)   Weight (grammes) 466 Publisher Oxford University Press   Published in Oxford Imprint Oxford University Press   Previous ISBN 9780199229505 Format Paperback   Height (mm) 234 Publication date 22 Apr 2010   Width (mm) 155 DEWEY 192   Spine width (mm) 18 DEWEY edition DC22   Academic level Further/Higher education

		Acknowledgments
		References to Hume's Work
		Introduction
		PART I. RELIGION AND THE EXTERNAL WORLD
1.		Projection, Religion, and the External World		3
2.		The Senses, Reason and the Imagination		26
3.		Realism, Meaning and Justification: The External World and Religious Belief		56
		PART II. MODALITY, PROJECTION AND REALISM
4.		'Our Profound Ignorance': Causal Realism and the Failure to Detect Necessity		77
5.		Spreading The Mind: Projection, Necessity and Realism		103
6.		Into the Labyrinth: Persons, Modality and Hume's Undoing		125
		PART III. VALUE, PROJECTION AND REALISM
7.		Gilding: Projection, Value and Secondary Qualities		147
8.		The Gold: Good, Evil, Belief and Desire		175
9.		The Golden: Relational Values, Realism and a Moral Sense		204
		Bibliography		245
		Index		255

"The detailed and clever textual analysis coupled with the originality and boldness of many of the core theses ensures that Kail's book will remain both an indispensable reference and a source of inspiration for the future scholarly activities of Hume specialists."--Angela Coventry, Notre DamePhilosophical Reviews

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