Politics, law and morality: David Hume on justice

Download

index.pdf

Date

2011

Author

Eryılmaz, Enes

Metadata

Show full item record

Item Usage Stats

400
views

221
downloads

This thesis evaluates David Hume’s notion of justice by examining the coherence in his legal, moral, and political philosophy. It is argued that on the whole, Hume’s use of the concept justice is coherent in his theories of law, ethics, and politics. To this end, firstly, Hume’s moral thought is examined in detail. Secondly, his legal theory and his position in legal philosophy are considered with references to its moral aspects. Next, Hume’s notion of justice is examined in its relation with the state. It is observed that Hume’s conception of justice has moral, legal, and political foundations, and that all of these subjects depend on the same principles. It is shown that the laws of justice constitute an ethical, legal, and political issue in Hume’s philosophy. According to Hume, although obeying the rules of justice is a moral topic, the laws of justice are guaranteed by the state in large societies.

Subject Keywords

Justice., Philosophy.

URI

http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12613424/index.pdf
https://hdl.handle.net/11511/20668

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis

Suggestions

OpenMETU
Core

The concept of evil in the early modern philosophy and Kant’s doctrine of radical evil Demirci, Ahmet Emre; Ceylan, Yasin; Department of Psychology (2017) The aim of my thesis is to shed light on the conception of evil in the early modern philosophy and specifically, as known as the last representative of the period, analyze Kant’s account of radical evil within the boundaries of his moral philosophy. In order to actualize this aim, I started with naming the major philosopher of the early modern philosophy who contributed most to the discussions on the problem of evil. I reviewed the views of Descartes, Spinoza, Bayle, Leibniz, and Hume on the problem of evil...
Irony as a philosophical attitude in socrates Korkut, Hacer; İnam, Ahmet; Department of Philosophy (2007) This thesis analyzes the reasons for Socrates' being presented as a paradoxical figure in the early dialogues of Plato. Irony as a fundamental philosophical attitude in Socratic philosophy is discussed with reference to some of the major philosophers of the history of philosophy. The thesis also suggests the possibility of seeing philosophy as an ironic activity and it traces the etymology of the concept of irony in terms of its philosophical importance.
Thomas Hobbes and Carl Schmitt on the tension between sovereign and law Ünlü, Özlem; Turan, Şeref Halil; Department of Philosophy (2018) This thesis aims at developing an understanding of the vital role that the political decision plays in the tension between sovereign and law through an examination of the constitutional theories of Thomas Hobbes and Carl Schmitt. In Schmitt’s classic work Dictatorship of 1921, the sovereign decision derives its legitimacy from its norm-preserving power, whereas in Political Theology appeared in 1922, it legitimizes itself on basis of the norm-giving power. In The Concept of the Political, the decision on wh...
A critical assessment of John Rawls’s Theory of Justice as fairness Eryılmaz, Ene; İnam, Ahmet.; Department of Philosophy (2019) This dissertation is a critical analysis of John Rawls’s theory of justice in its historical and philosophical context. To that end, his works from A Theory of Justice (1971) to Justice as Fairness: A Restatement (2001) are examined. Not only Rawls’s theory of justice but also his approach to metaphysics and metaethics are also tackled to understand justice as fairness deeply. While setting out Rawls’s main arguments and theses, a critical approach is adopted with his foremost critics. This study thus searc...
Labor, leisure and freedom in the philosophies of Aristotle, Karl Marx and Herbert Marcuse Kılınç, Doğan Barış; Turan, Şeref Halil; Department of Philosophy (2006) The aim of this study is to present an examination of the philosophies of Aristotle, Karl Marx and Herbert Marcuse concerning labor and leisure in the context of freedom. These philosophers have paid attention to the concepts labor and leisure; their view of freedom is dependent on the relationship they have established between labor and leisure. To this end, I firstly give a general overview of the concepts labor, leisure and freedom; afterwards, I try to show how these concepts have been considered in the...

Citation Formats

E. Eryılmaz, “ Politics, law and morality: David Hume on justice,” M.S. - Master of Science, Middle East Technical University, 2011.