Hume's Sceptical Enlightenment

A generation ago, Duncan Forbes lamented the 'terrible campaign country' confronted by those seeking the 'essential continuity of Hume’s thought'. Ryu Susato takes on that challenge. His nuanced account of Hume’s social and political writings – including the History of England – finds continuity in what he aptly defines as Hume’s Sceptical Enlightenment. * Mark G. Spencer, Brock University *
Susato provides a great deal of compelling philosophical analysis, attention to historical context and careful textual exegesis. He makes judicious contributions to a number of interpretive debates in the secondary literature. Most readers will learn from his discussion of the connection between associationism and Epicureanism in the 18th century and from how Hume's treatment of opinion draws on and differs from that of his predecessors and contemporaries. Susato's navigation of Hume's pro-luxury and anti-religious stances (especially compared to Voltaire's views) is compelling and his subtle reading of the 'Idea of a Perfect Commonwealth' illuminates a notoriously difficult text… It is a worthy addition to the scholarship on Hume's social and political philosophy. -- Angela Coventry and Alex Sager, Portland State University * Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews *