David Hume and the Problem of Other Minds (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781441123435)

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 the belief 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.

Author: Anik Waldow
ISBN-10: 1441123431
ISBN-13: 9781441123435
Publisher: Continnuum-3PL
Language: English
Published: 12/22/2011
Pages: 218
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.69lbs
Size: 9.21h x 6.14w x 0.46d