Anscombe, Hume and Julius Caesar

Abstract

hypothesis that can be freely doubted. But we can throw so fundamental a belief into 'question only by indulging in Cartesian doubt' (ibid., p. 6) which would entail 'destroying bases and standards for discovering any historical facts at all' (ibid., p. 7). In what follows, I shall argue that Hume's analysis of historical method does not commit him to this absurdity. It is worthwile to point this out because Hume was one of the first philosophers to do what has come to be known in the last decade or so as critical or analytical philosophy of history. Yet the literature on Hume's philosophical reflections on history is virtually non-existent. It is for this reason that Professor Anscombe's article is especially welcome, and this is also why it is important to get Hume's views straight.