Hume’s Philosophical Economics

Abstract

Hume’s economic essays were part of his early project of politics as one of the principal departments of the Science of Man, a project realized, first, by the morals expounded in Book 3 of the Treatise; second, by the politics and criticism in Essays Moral and Political; and third, by economic and political essays in the Political Discourses. The author sheds new light on the way in which Hume’s economic theory was developed as an integral part of his grand philosophical project, one based on the theory of causal reasoning that served Hume’s theorizing throughout his social science in general and his economics in particular. A profound connection is shown between Hume’s philosophy and economics, mainly from a methodological point of view, by highlighting his theory of causation. The strictly philosophical nature and origin of Hume’s “economics” demonstrates the significant difference between his economic writings and those of his contemporaries.