Hume and Contractarianism

Whelan, Frederick G.

doi:10.2307/3235173

Cited by 10 publications

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“…While warning against the particular unsalutary tendencies unleashed by modern speculative reasoning, Hume argues for understanding the political order as a rational entity whose purposes can be established by reason and to which men are attached through their reason. This political rationalism has been seen to contain utilitarian (Plamenatz 1963, Sabine 1950, Wolin 1954, contractarian (Gauthier 1979, Whelan 1994, and natural law elements (Forbes 1975, chapter 2;Haakonssen 1981, chapter 2;Stewart 1992, chapter 4), but at its core is a concern for establishing political freedom through rational political opinion. This concern dictates that Hume's political rationalism is ultimately governed not by the philosophical politician's aim of doctrinal precision but by the political legislator's awareness of the fragility of all political societies.…”

Section: Hume's Rational Political Order: Reason Will Freedom and mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…8 This argument ultimately dictates against seeing Hume's political theory as "contractarian" because it entails a great diminishment of the extent to which government is responsible to the governed. Yet, see the fine accounts of the contractarian elements in Hume's political theory by Whelan (1994) and David Gauthier (1979). Also see Whelan (1994, 216, 220-1) on the absence of will and sovereignty in Hume's political theory.…”

Section: Hume's Rational Political Order: Reason Will Freedom and mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Hume's Constitutionalism and the Identity of Constitutional Democracy

Manzer

1996

Am Polit Sci Rev

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Modern constitutional democracy entails a particular kind of political self-understanding that uniquely centers on a constitution. While many recent studies have focused on how constitutional text shapes this self-understanding, little attention has been paid to the implications of different views of constitutional authority. This is a critical consideration, however, because constitutional authority has always been intrinsically fragile within constitutional democracy, and never more so than at present. In this article, I explore the potential of constitutional science to generate a conception of constitutional authority and collective identity. I focus on David Hume's effort to use constitutional science to shape opinion about liberty and the nature of the political community. This analysis also provides a basis for reflecting on the problematic relation of democracy to constitutionalism and on the peculiar problem of constitutional opinion in constitutional democracy.

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Section: Hume's Rational Political Order: Reason Will Freedom and mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Hume's Rational Political Order: Reason Will Freedom and mentioning

confidence: 99%

Hume's Constitutionalism and the Identity of Constitutional Democracy

Manzer

1996

Am Polit Sci Rev

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“… 17 It is beyond my scope to discuss Hume's complicated relationship to contractarianism, but see Gauthier (1979), Buckle and Castiglione (1991), and Whelan (1994). …”

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confidence: 99%

Whither Parties? Hume on Partisanship and Political Legitimacy

Landis

2017

Am Polit Sci Rev

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Recent work by party scholars reveals a widening gap between the normative ideals we set out for political parties and the empirical evidence that reveals their deep and perhaps insurmountable shortcomings in realizing these ideals. This disjunction invites us to consider the perspective of David Hume, who offers a theory of the value and proper function of parties that is resilient to the pessimistic findings of recent empirical scholarship. I analyze Hume's writings to show that the psychological experience of party informs the opinions by which governments can be considered legitimate. Hume thus invites us to consider the essential role parties might play in securing legitimacy as that ideal is practiced or understood by citizens, independent of the ideal understandings of legitimacy currently being articulated by theorists. My analysis contributes to both recent party scholarship and to our understanding of the role of parties in Hume's theory of allegiance.

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“…WILLIAMS (1981).22 DEPAUL (1987, p. 470). DePaul emprega a expressão "moral conversion" em várias passagens do seu artigo.…”

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