David Hume and the Problem of Other Minds

The problem of other minds has widely been considered as a special problem within the debate about scepticism. If one cannot be sure that there is a world existing independent ly of one''s mind, how can we be sure that there are minds - minds which we cannot even experience the way we experience material objects? This book shows, through a detailed examination of David Hume''s A Treatise of Human Nature , that these concerns are unfounded. By focusing on Hume''s discussion of sympathy - the ability to connect with the mental contents of other persons - Anik Waldow demonstrates that belief in other minds can be justified by the same means as belief in material objects. The book thus not only provides the first large-scale treatment of the function of thebelief in other minds within the Treatise, thereby adding a new dimension to Hume''s realism, but also serves as an invaluable guide to the complexity of the problem of other minds and its various responses in contemporary debate.

Product details

• Authors: Anik Waldow, Anik Waldow
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 20.10.2011
• EAN: 9781441123435
• ISBN: 978-1-4411-2343-5
• No. of pages: 218
• Series: Continuum Studies in British P; Continuum Studies in British P
• Subject: Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Philosophy: general, reference works