1st Edition
Consciousness, Time, and Scepticism in Hume’s Thought
Introduction. Hume’s remedy for unphilosophical belief
1. Impressions: colour, consciousness, temporal experience
2. Finite divisibility; manners of disposition; points
3. Time and our experience of time
4. Identity
5. The conception and perception of a vacuum
6. Belief: normativity; objects
7. Causes of the belief in bodies
8. Reasons for scepticism about the external existence of bodies
Conclusion. Hume’s remedy
Biography
Lorne Falkenstein is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at Western University, Canada. He is a co‑author of Logic Works: A Rigorous Introduction to Formal Logic (Routledge: 2022), co‑editor of the Broadview editions of Hume’s Enquires, Dissertation, and Natural History (2011–13), and has written many articles on early modern philosophy.
"A carefully crafted and detailed examination of some problems in Hume’s philosophy that have not received the attention they deserve. Falkenstein has provided an exacting analysis of the various relations between time, space and the mind in Hume’s philosophy, a gift to Hume scholarship."
Wade Robison, Rochester Institute of Technology, USA
"This book is an original, deep, and unfailingly valuable interpretation and interrogation of central aspects of Hume’s epistemology, metaphysics, and philosophy of mind. It merits and rewards close study."
Don Garrett, New York University, USA
"Falkenstein’s terrific book is a study of central themes of Hume’s theoretical philosophy, with due focus on the Treatise and first Enquiry. The book displays a remarkable combination of breadth and depth. While the discussion includes a wide range of topics, such as belief, identity, space and time, the metaphysics of mind, and skepticism, Falkenstein’s consideration of each is exacting and detailed. Another virtue of the book is its rigorous and illuminating interrogations of Hume’s positions and arguments. It is a major contribution to the study of Hume’s philosophy, and every scholar of eighteenth-century metaphysics and epistemology would benefit from engaging with it."
Bridger Ehli, Indiana University Bloomington, USA
"Falkenstein discusses space, time, objectivity, consciousness, and skepticism. The attention to these deep issues of perennial philosophy and the mining of Hume’s arguments in rich historical context to find ways to address them, makes this book an important contribution to philosophy, to early modern Western scholarship, and to Hume scholarship."Donald L. M. Baxter, University of Connecticut, USA
