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Chapter 10 - Hume, Cicero, and the Ancients

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 January 2021

By
Aaron Garrett
Edited by
Esther Engels Kroeker  and
Willem Lemmens
Esther Engels Kroeker
Affiliation:
Universiteit Antwerpen, Belgium
Willem Lemmens
Affiliation:
Universiteit Antwerpen, Belgium
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Summary

This essay takes Hume’s extensive engagement with Cicero in the second Enquiry as an entry into considering one of Hume’s motivations in writing the work: a newfound awareness of the way in which religion distorted the virtues. Cicero, and ancient moral philosophy, became a means for Hume to engage an audience who was potentially resistant to his attempt to undermine the bright line between the Christian virtues and the much broader category of approvable qualities. The essay closes with a discussion of a connected issue, rights.

Keywords

HumeCiceroHutchesonvirtuerights
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Chapter
Information
Hume's An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals
A Critical Guide
 , pp. 192 - 218
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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