Spectres Of False Divinity: Hume's Moral Atheism

Features of Spectres of False Divinity: Hume's Moral Atheism

Spectres of False Divinity presents a historical and critical interpretation of Humes rejection of the existence of a deity with moral attributes In Humes view no first cause or designer responsible for the ordered universe could possibly have moral attributes nor could the existence or nonexistence of such a being have any real implications for human practice or conduct Humes case for this moral atheism is a central plank of both his naturalistic agenda in metaphysics and his secularizing program in moral theory It complements his wider critique of traditional theism and threatens to rule out any religion that would make claims on moral practiceThomas Holden situates Humes commitment to moral atheism in its historical and philosophical context offers a systematic interpretation of his case for divine amorality and shows how Hume can endorse moral atheism while maintaining his skeptical attitude toward traditional forms of cosmological and theological speculation