UNDERSTANDING THE NATURE OF THE CONCEPT OF GOD IN THE CONTEXT OF HUME’S EMPIRICISM REGARDING DIALOGUES CONCERNING NATURAL RELIGION Cover Image

RAZUMIJEVANJE (PRIRODE) POIMANJA BOGA U KONTEKSTU HUMEOVA EMPIRIZMA S OBZIROM NA DIJALOGE O NARAVNOJ RELIGIJI
UNDERSTANDING THE NATURE OF THE CONCEPT OF GOD IN THE CONTEXT OF HUME’S EMPIRICISM REGARDING DIALOGUES CONCERNING NATURAL RELIGION

Author(s): Dafne Vidanec
Contributor(s): Kevin Sullivan (Translator)
Subject(s): Early Modern Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion, 18th Century
Published by: Katolički bogoslovni fakultet
Keywords: David Hume; God; Natural Religion; Empiricism; ‹Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion›;

Summary/Abstract: The paper deals with understanding of the concept of God and the notion of religion in the philosophical thought of David Hume, the Scottish philosopher. Some commentators such as John M. Robertson think of Hume’s work as foreseen philosophy. They argue that Hume›s theses published in the form of essays and treatises have been, in a certain way, “mutilated”; that Hume deserves a more appropriate place in philosophical discourse than he currently enjoys, and the same also applies to religion. Thisis explored through an analysis of Hume’s understanding of the concept of natural religion, as laid out in his Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion. In terms of discussion of natural religion in the history of philosophy, the author argues that this is the most significant philosophical treatment of the topic since Pascal’s Pensées. Addressing Hume’s interpretation of natural religion, explained in the Dialogues, the paper describes this as a kind of hermetically presented piece of work on the nature of belief in general. The structure of the paper is threefold: the first part deals with Hume’s personal way of thinking about the attributes of God; the second is focused on Hume’s empiricism, and the third is dedicated to the concept laid out in the Dialogues. It should be noted that reception of David Hume’s thought, in general and with regard to his philosophy of natural religion, has been relatively weak and that his philosophy has not been widely explored in Croatian-language texts.

  • Issue Year: 2020
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 19-39
  • Page Count: 21
  • Language: Croatian