A Humean Social Ontology

Published In

The Humean Mind

Document Type

Book Chapter

Publication Date

2018

Abstract

Hume’s account of convention has enjoyed widespread influence across disciplines, including economics, law, and political science. Despite this influence, few commentators on Hume’s conventions have investigated their social ontology (i.e. the entities and relationships that make possible social institutions and coordinated behavior). For Hume, social ontology must ultimately be based on his associationist psychology. We show that Hume offers a plausible metaphysics for an empirically grounded account of the social world that does not rely on controversial accounts of shared intentional states or “we-intentions.” Moreover, a Humean approach has distinct advantages over linguistically based alternatives.

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/41388

Publisher

Routledge

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