Projection and Realism in Hume's Philosophy [Paperback]

In his writings, Hume talks of our 'gilding and staining' natural objects, and of the mind's propensity to 'spread itself' on the world. This has led commentators to use the metaphor of 'projection' in connection with his philosophy: Hume is held to have taught that causal power and self are projections, that God is a projection of our fear, and that value is a projection of sentiment. By considering what it is about Hume's writing that occasions this metaphor, P. J. E. Kail spells out its meaning, the role it plays in Hume's work, and examines how, if at all, what sounds 'projective' in Hume can be reconciled with what sounds 'realist'. In addition to offering some highly original readings of Hume's central ideas,Projection and Realism in Hume's Philosophyoffers a detailed examination of the notion of projection and the problems it faces.

Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Introduction
Part I: Religion and the External World
1. Projection, Religion and the External World
2. The Senses, Reason and the Imagination
3. Realism, Meaning and Justification: The External World and Religious Belief
Part II: Modality, Projection and Realism
4. 'Our Profound Ignorance': Causal Realism and the Failure to Detect Necessity
5. Spreading the Mind: Projection and Necessity
6. Into the Labyrinth: Persons, Modality and Hume's Undoing
Part III: Value, Projection and Realism
7. Gilding: Projection, Value and Secondary Qualities
8. The Gold: Good, Evil, Belief and Desire
9. The Golden: Relational Values, Realism and a Moral Sense

The detailed and clever textual analysis coupled with the originality and boldness of many of the core theses ensures that Kail's book will remain both an indispensable reference and a source of inspiration for the future scholarly activities of Hume specialists. --Angela Coventry,Notre DamePhilosophical Reviews