Hume on the Phenomenological Discovery of the Self

1993

This paper presents a synthesis of my research into the problem of the self in Hume. The copious bibliography available on this topic indicates that the subject I suggest to discuss is problematic but also of crucial interest. I propose to develop the following argument, namely, that there exists in Hume a psychological awareness of the self. There is no incompatibility between the denial of personal identity in A Treatise of Human Nature Book I, and the arguments put forward in Book II Of the Passions, and in Book III, Of the Understanding of Morals. I shall maintain that Hume is not elaborating an ontological but a psychological theory of the self. This represents a new departure with reg…