Annals of the Society for the History of Economic Thought
Online ISSN : 1884-7366
Print ISSN : 0453-4786
ISSN-L : 0453-4786
The Survey of Hume Studies in Political and Economic Thought since the 1980s
Ryu Susato
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2004 Volume 46 Issue 46 Pages 83-96

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Abstract

This survey looks at the trends in Hume studies since the 1980s. With regard to the original text and translation of Hume's writings, the new Clarendon edition of the Essays, Moral, Political, and Literary, and the reliable and accessible translation are expected.
The survey of recent Hume studies is divided into theoretical and historical readings.
The theoretical approach produced several interesting studies. Livingston and Schmidt proposed the Hegelian reading of Hume's overall philosophy. Although we might say there is some affinity between Hume and Hegel, the extent to which the readings of Livingston and Schmidt can be considered valid is doubtful. Whelan tried to grasp Hume's political philosophy by seeking similarities between Machiavellian Realism and Hume. His attempt aims to apprehend the elusiveness of Hume's political philosophy, but the composition of the book assumes a degree of monotony due to his emphasis on the similarities between the two thinkers.
In terms of an historical reading, the revisionism movement in the history of political philosophy has influenced and led the Hume studies since the 1980s. Within what is called “Wealth and Virtue” framework, Pocock, Robertson and Hont produced rich studies on Hume's political philosophy. However, this framework exerted too much influence upon subsequent Hume studies, so that the historically diverse realities were coerced to fit into this frame. Further, the idea of “discourse” sometimes produced confusion rather than clarity in this field.
Since the end of the 1990s, Hume studies in the history of economic thought have been on the rise, as if the recent studies in the history of political philosophy triggered them. Their discussions have concentrated on Hume's monetary theory, but the interest in this field will lead into unexplored topics hereafter. That is to say, we have now reached the “post-Wealth and Virtue” stage, and the revisionism serves to produce the recent briskness of new Hume studies in the history of economic and political thought.
Lastly, we need mention the rise in the recent years of interest in Hume's History of England. Recently, some scholars have shown deep interest in Hume's historical narratives. The recent increase in interest in the History proves that the historical studies on Hume will be followed by Hume studies in more diverse fields in the future. Along with these new studies, the problem of the relation between Hume's economic thought and his alleged appraisal of commercial society and civilization in general will need to be tackled.

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