Norman Kemp Smith's The Philosophy of David Hume continues to be unsurpassed in its comprehensive coverage of the ideas and issues of Hume's Treatise. Now, after years of waiting, this currently out-of-print and highly sought-after classic is being re-issued. This ground-breaking book has long been regarded as a classic study by scholars in the field, yet a new introduction by Don Garrett places the book in its contemporary context, showing Humes's continuing importance in the field.
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About the Author
Norman Kemp Smith (1872-1958) was Professor of Logic and Metaphysics at the University of Edinburgh. Amongst his books are New Studies in the Philosophy of Descartes, The Credibility of Divine Existence and his translation of Kant's Critique of Pure Reason.
Don Garrett is Kenan Distinguished Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of North Carlolina, Chapel Hill. He is the Co-Editor of the journal Hume Studies, and The Encyclopedia of Empiricism, author of Cognition and Commitment in Hume's Philosophy, editor of The Cambridge Companion to Spinoza and Early Modern Philosophy (OUP forthcoming).
Don Garrett is Kenan Distinguished Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of North Carlolina, Chapel Hill. He is the Co-Editor of the journal Hume Studies, and The Encyclopedia of Empiricism, author of Cognition and Commitment in Hume's Philosophy, editor of The Cambridge Companion to Spinoza and Early Modern Philosophy (OUP forthcoming).
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23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
First-Rate Commentary,
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This review is from: The Philosophy of David Hume: With a New Introduction by Don Garrett (Paperback)
Just how important is David Hume? He's the first modern empirical psychologist who anticipates William James by a century. He's also the first modern philosopher to extol experience alone as paramount to understanding human behavior as the first in the long line of Pragmatic philosophers. He's also the first modern philosopher to employ exclusively the scientific method of Francis Bacon and Isaac Newton as paradigmatic. He's the second (after Francis Hutcheson) to instantiate a naturalist and intuitionist ethic known as benevolent or sentimentalist theory. And besides which, he's one of the few major philosophers who is accessible to the general public.
But as accessible as Hume is, it's always helpful to have a reliable commentary to bring out the subtle nuances of a particular philosopher. Thus was A. E. Taylor to Plato, J. H. Randall to Aristotle, Brian Davies to Thomas Aquinas, and Norman Kemp Smith to David Hume. Written in the first-third of the 20thC., this artful and insightful commentary on Hume's basic writings, especially of Hume's "Treatise on Human Nature," is indispensable. Long out of print, Macmillan has corrected the deficit and reissued this important study that covers the antecedents, writings, and subsequent influence of David Hume. Kemp's thesis is that one cannot understand Hume's project without first understanding Hume's moral epistemology and the ascendent influence of Hutcheson in forming it. Ironically, Hume's moral epistemology isn't made manifest until Part III of his youthful "Treatise," after dealing first with cognition and second the passions. Hume's method is entirely pragmatic in that experience alone, as opposed to a priori speculation, or even induction, is the sole means of understanding human cognition, belief, passions, and morals. Kemp also illustrates Hume's extreme method to avoid both dogmatism and skepticism, the two horns of the philosophers' dilemma that produce a quixotic approach that is uniquely Hume's. Consequently, Kemp's interpretation of Hume comes across as less an empricist and more rigorously a populizer of the "vulgar" in a non-philosophical sense. The only substantive subject Kemp omits is Hume's criticism of religion as superstition, but this omission is somewhat obvious and trivial in light of its natural consequence of Hume's overall experientialist, non-ratiocinative project. Kemp's style, clarity, and incisiveness match his subject's. He spent thirty years pondering David Hume's thought and writings, and it wasn't until his insight about Hume's moral epistemology that everything came together for him as a coherent whole. And as tendentious as Kemp's thesis is, it's fully documented and carefully executed, so that even the skeptic must concede Kemp's invaluable contribution. Still, the omission concerning the "Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion" is lamentable, if only because it is of particular importance to Hume's experientialist project. An excellent alternative and complementary commentary, "Cognition and Commitment: Hume's Philosophy," by Dan Garrett is a more current, and a very different, approach. Both are very highly recommended.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Foundation for modern Hume studies,
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This review is from: The Philosophy of David Hume: With a New Introduction by Don Garrett (Paperback)
Norman Kemp Smith's work was, and is, deservedly a watershed in Hume's studies. While philosophy has moved on in its estimate and understanding of David Hume and his philosophy, Kemp Smith's work is clearly the fountainhead--whether one agrees or not with his essential view of Hume's epistemology/ anthropology. One either agrees with Kemp Smith and moves on--or one disagrees with Kemp Smith and then moves on. There is no ignoring him and even though this study was completed in the early 20th century it continues its impact today. Kemp Smith's acheivement here is important not simply because it is a good book, but because he is a patient exegete of the philosophy of Hume, carefully reading and rereading everything by and about Hume until the thesis presents itself to him. That precision and patience is worth learning from. Building upon his two articles in the philosophy journal "Mind" in 1905, Kemp Smith continued to reflect upon Hume's philosophy and its forebears who might have been influential to Hume's thought. We have been given in this study a book that others would do well to emulate. While many books have been written about Hume in the interim between the publication of this book in the 1940's and now, there are few who bring such intellectual integrity to their reading and explication of Hume. Kemp Smith's book was and is foundational and fundamental in understanding Hume the philosopher--to use Kuhn's language of paradigms--its heuristic nature is beyond question. As a model it held tremendous sway. It continues to do so. It presents a careful argument that is a model of precision, of scholarly acumen, and intellectual brilliance, and of a careful, painstaking, thoughtful reading and interpretation. One will not only learn about David Hume and his thought, but also about the "reading," the "doing," and the "writing" of philosophy from Kemp Smith's achievement. A must read!
0 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I recommend,
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Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Philosophy of David Hume: With a New Introduction by Don Garrett (Paperback)
I have got this book not so long and i have just received in very good state. I recommend for every Hume`s researcher
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