Humean Reflections in the Ethics of Bernard Williams

Greco, Lorenzo

doi:10.1017/s0953820807002610

Cited by 5 publications

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“…This neglect is the primary motivation behind this paper. The only possible exception would be the philosopher Bernard Williams: while his writings in political philosophy do not contain any reference to Hume, his ethical thought display an important Humean influence (Greco 2007). Bernard Williams is of special interest for this paper since his book In the Beginning was the Deed (2005) is generally regarded as the starting point for the revival of realism among contemporary theorists (North 2010: 383;Sleat 2010: 485-86).…”

Section: The State Of the Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

David Hume and Contemporary Realism in Political Theory

Carlsson

2012

SSRN Journal

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Proponents of the recent movement of realism in political theory have expressed dissatisfaction with the typically Kantian and ideal theoretical assumptions that guide much political and normative theorizing. In this paper it is proposed that these realist theorists could find support for their critique of the Kantian legacy, as well as building blocks for a realist alternative, by drawing on the moral and political thought of David Hume. The paper constitutes a reading of Hume's writings with the contemporary realist critique in mind. The result highlights four themes in Hume's thought: (1) The empirically informed approach to normative reasoning. (2) An emphasis on that political theorizing must be conducted on the basis of a realistic political psychology. (3) The critique of social contract doctrines, a critique that is directed at idealistic and rationalistic versions of liberalism. (4) Hume's account of human sociality and the origins of political authority. Lastly, it is suggested that the fact that Hume combines realism with liberalism makes him of additional interest to the many realists who are seeking to correct rather than reject liberal political theory and who are thus wary of finding themselves too close to Machiavelli and Hobbes, the usual realist predecessors.

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Section: The State Of the Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

David Hume and Contemporary Realism in Political Theory

Carlsson

2012

SSRN Journal

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The shaken realist: Bernard Williams, the war, and philosophy as cultural critique

Krishnan

Queloz

2022

European J of Philosophy

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Bernard Williams thought that philosophy should address real human concerns felt beyond academic philosophy. But what wider concerns are addressed by Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy, a book he introduces as being "principally about how things are in moral philosophy"? In this article, we argue that Williams responded to the concerns of his day indirectly, refraining from explicitly claiming wider cultural relevance, but hinting at it in the pair of epigraphs that opens the main text. This was Williams's solution to what he perceived as the stylistic problem of how to pursue philosophy as cultural critique.Taking the epigraphs as interpretative keys to the wider resonances of the book, we show how they reveal Williams's philosophical concerns-with the primacy of character over method, the obligation to follow orders, and the possibility of combining truth, truthfulness, and a meaningful life in a disillusioned world-to be recognisably rooted in the cultural concerns of post-war Britain. In the light of its epigraphs, the book emerges as the critique of a philosophical tradition's inadequacies to the special difficulties of its cultural moment. | INTRODUCTIONBernard Williams defended inaccessibly technical philosophy on the ground that the path to something helpful was often hard and technical. But he also felt that, at the end of the line, philosophy should "speak truthfully to a real human concern, to something that could disturb or interest a grown-up person quite apart from any involvement

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Minding the Gap: Bernard Williams and David Hume on Living an Ethical Life

Sagar

2014

J Moral Philos

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Humean Reflections in the Ethics of Bernard Williams

Cited by 5 publications

References 1 publication

David Hume and Contemporary Realism in Political Theory

David Hume and Contemporary Realism in Political Theory

The shaken realist: Bernard Williams, the war, and philosophy as cultural critique

Minding the Gap: Bernard Williams and David Hume on Living an Ethical Life

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