The moral sense in Hume's "Treatise" and Cicero's "De Officiis".
Published: 2006
Language: eng
Number of pages: 204
ISBN-13: 9780494220016
Description: In this essay I argue for a Ciceronian interpretation of Hume's notion of the moral sense by showing the influence of Cicero's De Officiis  on the moral sense school and on Hume himself. I argue that Cicero's account of the moral sense can be seen in Hume's Treatise and that by understanding Hume in light of De Officiis we can correct some misinterpretations of Hume and address various questions in moral philosophy. I begin by showing the importance of a Ciceronian understanding of Hume, then I argue for the Ciceronian influence on the moral sense school Hume is associated with. Given these reasons, and talking Hume in his famous letter to Hutcheson seriously, I give a Ciceronian interpretation of the moral sense in Hume. Finally, I show how assuming a Ciceronian view of the moral sense in the Treatise resolves some general problems in moral philosophy, focusing on arguments by Michael Smith and J. L. Mackie, and some specific questions about interpreting Hume, focusing on Jonathan Harrison and Francis Snare.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-01, Section: A, page: 0208.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Toronto, 2006.

Electronic version licensed for access by U. of T. users.