| Abstract |
"This book is a collection of papers that are concerned with major figures and central topics in the history of early modern philosophy. Most of these papers are concerned with the philosophy of David Hume, one of the great figures in the history of philosophy. The contents of this collection are divided into five parts. The contributions are placed and arranged under the headings of metaphysics, free will, ethics, religion, and the general interpretation of Hume's philosophy. Among the various figures considered, other than Hume, are Thomas Hobbes, Baruch Spinoza, Nicolas Malebranche, Pierre Bayle, John Locke, George Berkeley, Samuel Clarke, and Adam Smith. Taken together, they present the reader with a substantial and significant set of interconnected and overlapping observations and insights relating to matters and figures of the greatest importance in early modern philosophy. As such, this collection not only provides some very different perspectives on the subject, it also shows how these otherwise dispersed and fragmented concerns and interests are relevant to each other, as well as to various topics in contemporary philosophy. The collection includes a previously unpublished paper on Hume's atheism and another paper on Adam Smith's views on religion and ethics that has not been previously published in English"-- Provided by publisher. |
