Spectres of False Divinity: Hume's Moral Atheism

ISBN-13: 9780199645947 / Angielski / Miękka / 2012 / 264 str.

Thomas Holden

Opis

Spectres of False Divinity presents a historical and critical interpretation of Hume's rejection of the existence of a deity with moral attributes. In Hume's view, no first cause or designer responsible for the ordered universe could possibly have moral attributes; nor could the existence (or non-existence) of such a being have any real implications for human practice or conduct. Hume's case for this 'moral atheism' is a central plank of both his naturalistic agenda in metaphysics and his secularizing program in moral theory. It complements his wider critique of traditional theism, and threatens to rule out any religion that would make claims on moral practice.
Thomas Holden situates Hume's commitment to moral atheism in its historical and philosophical context, offers a systematic interpretation of his case for divine amorality, and shows how Hume can endorse moral atheism while maintaining his skeptical attitude toward traditional forms of cosmological and theological speculation.

Recenzje

Spectres of False Divinity is an impressive work. Holden is in firm control of the evidence he marshals in support of his principal thesis about Hume's moral atheism. ... the frequent inclusion of interesting and illuminating historical material is one of the excellences of the book. Another virtue is the uniformly scrupulous attention Holden pays to objections and even some possible objections to the various claims he makes.

O autorze

Thomas Holden is an Associate Professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is the author of The Architecture of Matter: Galileo to Kant (OUP, 2004).