Frederick G Whelan
Biographic Data
| ID | 1095759 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Frederick G Whelan |
| GIVEN NAMES | Frederick G |
| FAMILY NAME | Whelan |
| SIGNATURE | WHELAN F G |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Pittsburgh |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 13 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 47 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 13 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1981 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2021 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
International Society
David Hume on Morals, Politics, and Society
A compact and accessible edition of Hume’s political and moral writings with essays by a distinguished set of contributors A key figure of the Scottish Enlightenment, David Hume was a major influence on thinkers ranging from Kant and Schopenhauer to Einstein and Popper, and his writings continue to be deeply relevant today. With four essays by leading Hume scholars exploring his complex intellectual legacy, this volume presents an overview of Hum…
Eighteenth-century Scottish Political Economy and the Decline of Imperial Spain
This article examines the causes of the decline of imperial Spain as set forth in the works of Hume, Smith, Robertson, and other eighteenth-century writers, primarily Scottish. As in the classic case of the decline of the ancient Roman republic and empire, moral causes related to Spain's national character and its distortion under the impact of imperial wealth were sometimes adduced. Nevertheless, the famous Roman precedent proved inapplicable, f…
Hypocrisy and Integrity
Greek Freedom and Collective Action in Herodotus
Herodotus' History recounts how the Greeks preserved their freedom as independent city-states by forming a coalition to resist invasion and conquest by Persia in 490-480 BC. This paper argues that on this occasion the Greeks faced a collective action problem, since their avoidance of being conquered was a collective good and their very freedom allowed them to act as independent, self-interested agents. It is also argued that Herodotus himself und…
Robertson, Hume, and the Balance of Power
Hume Studies Volume XXI, Number 2, November 1995, pp. 315-332 Robertson, Hume, and the Balance of Power FREDERICK G. WHELAN William Robertson, like his Scottish Enlightenment colleague David Hume, practiced a kind of philosophic history which, although it appears to consist mainly of narratives of political and military events, is also designed to teach moral and political lessons of general significance and utility. The principal theme of Hume's…
Time, Revolution, and Prescriptive Right in Hume's Theory of Government
Hume's theory of government and allegiance falls into two parts. In its better known segment Hume explains the conjectural origin of government in general as a convention necessary to enforce the rules of justice and provide other public goods, and he grounds the general duty of allegiance on the utility of government in making stable social life possible. To his credit, however, Hume goes on to give separate treatment to the topic of what he ter…
Hume and Contractarianism
David Hume's opposition to contractarian political theory, most famously expressed in "Of the Original Contract," is not as complete as prevailing interpretations suggest. On the issues of requiring consent from the governed and the permissibility of resistance to oppression, he is less far from the contractarian position than is normally assumed. However he diverges strongly from the contractarians in denying both their individualist premises ab…
Church Establishments, Liberty & Competition in Religion
Most supporters of the established church in eighteenth-century England defended it with arguments consistent with their Whiggish or Lockean liberalism, which required respect for liberty of conscience. This article surveys a number of such arguments, among them that of David Hume, who, despite his notorious anticlericalism, advocated the establishment of religion as necessary for social stability. It then explores several opposing arguments for …
Order and Artifice in Hume's Political Philosophy
Justice
Language and Its Abuses in Hobbes' Political Philosophy
As in Hobbes' view it is principally the capacity for speech that distinguishes men from even the social animals, so it is in verbal and doctrinal controversies that he usually finds the sources of conflict and sedition. Hobbes analyzes-in the hope of doing away with them-a variety of what he regards as abuses of language, such as metaphor, equivocation, eloquence, and absurdity, which are especially productive of political disorder. He also offe…
Citizenship and the Right to Leave
The right to leave one's country, in conjunction with the right to change one's nationality, both of which are proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), are examined in historical and philosophical perspective and with special reference to their implications for a theory of citizenship. These rights are novel elements in enumerations of fundamental rights, at variance with traditional conceptions of state sovereignty and wit…
Citizenship and the Right to Leave
The right to leave one's country, in conjunction with the right to change one's nationality, both of which are proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), are examined in historical and philosophical perspective and with special reference to their implications for a theory of citizenship. These rights are novel elements in enumerations of fundamental rights, at variance with traditional conceptions of state sovereignty and wit…
Language and Its Abuses in Hobbes' Political Philosophy
As in Hobbes' view it is principally the capacity for speech that distinguishes men from even the social animals, so it is in verbal and doctrinal controversies that he usually finds the sources of conflict and sedition. Hobbes analyzes-in the hope of doing away with them-a variety of what he regards as abuses of language, such as metaphor, equivocation, eloquence, and absurdity, which are especially productive of political disorder. He also offe…
Hume and Contractarianism
David Hume's opposition to contractarian political theory, most famously expressed in "Of the Original Contract," is not as complete as prevailing interpretations suggest. On the issues of requiring consent from the governed and the permissibility of resistance to oppression, he is less far from the contractarian position than is normally assumed. However he diverges strongly from the contractarians in denying both their individualist premises ab…
Church Establishments, Liberty & Competition in Religion
Most supporters of the established church in eighteenth-century England defended it with arguments consistent with their Whiggish or Lockean liberalism, which required respect for liberty of conscience. This article surveys a number of such arguments, among them that of David Hume, who, despite his notorious anticlericalism, advocated the establishment of religion as necessary for social stability. It then explores several opposing arguments for …
Justice
Language and Its Abuses in Hobbes' Political Philosophy
As in Hobbes' view it is principally the capacity for speech that distinguishes men from even the social animals, so it is in verbal and doctrinal controversies that he usually finds the sources of conflict and sedition. Hobbes analyzes-in the hope of doing away with them-a variety of what he regards as abuses of language, such as metaphor, equivocation, eloquence, and absurdity, which are especially productive of political disorder. He also offe…
Citizenship and the Right to Leave
The right to leave one's country, in conjunction with the right to change one's nationality, both of which are proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), are examined in historical and philosophical perspective and with special reference to their implications for a theory of citizenship. These rights are novel elements in enumerations of fundamental rights, at variance with traditional conceptions of state sovereignty and wit…
Justice
Order and Artifice in Hume's Political Philosophy
Church Establishments, Liberty & Competition in Religion
Most supporters of the established church in eighteenth-century England defended it with arguments consistent with their Whiggish or Lockean liberalism, which required respect for liberty of conscience. This article surveys a number of such arguments, among them that of David Hume, who, despite his notorious anticlericalism, advocated the establishment of religion as necessary for social stability. It then explores several opposing arguments for …
Hume and Contractarianism
David Hume's opposition to contractarian political theory, most famously expressed in "Of the Original Contract," is not as complete as prevailing interpretations suggest. On the issues of requiring consent from the governed and the permissibility of resistance to oppression, he is less far from the contractarian position than is normally assumed. However he diverges strongly from the contractarians in denying both their individualist premises ab…
Robertson, Hume, and the Balance of Power
Hume Studies Volume XXI, Number 2, November 1995, pp. 315-332 Robertson, Hume, and the Balance of Power FREDERICK G. WHELAN William Robertson, like his Scottish Enlightenment colleague David Hume, practiced a kind of philosophic history which, although it appears to consist mainly of narratives of political and military events, is also designed to teach moral and political lessons of general significance and utility. The principal theme of Hume's…
Time, Revolution, and Prescriptive Right in Hume's Theory of Government
Hume's theory of government and allegiance falls into two parts. In its better known segment Hume explains the conjectural origin of government in general as a convention necessary to enforce the rules of justice and provide other public goods, and he grounds the general duty of allegiance on the utility of government in making stable social life possible. To his credit, however, Hume goes on to give separate treatment to the topic of what he ter…
Greek Freedom and Collective Action in Herodotus
Herodotus' History recounts how the Greeks preserved their freedom as independent city-states by forming a coalition to resist invasion and conquest by Persia in 490-480 BC. This paper argues that on this occasion the Greeks faced a collective action problem, since their avoidance of being conquered was a collective good and their very freedom allowed them to act as independent, self-interested agents. It is also argued that Herodotus himself und…
Hypocrisy and Integrity
David Hume on Morals, Politics, and Society
A compact and accessible edition of Hume’s political and moral writings with essays by a distinguished set of contributors A key figure of the Scottish Enlightenment, David Hume was a major influence on thinkers ranging from Kant and Schopenhauer to Einstein and Popper, and his writings continue to be deeply relevant today. With four essays by leading Hume scholars exploring his complex intellectual legacy, this volume presents an overview of Hum…
Eighteenth-century Scottish Political Economy and the Decline of Imperial Spain
This article examines the causes of the decline of imperial Spain as set forth in the works of Hume, Smith, Robertson, and other eighteenth-century writers, primarily Scottish. As in the classic case of the decline of the ancient Roman republic and empire, moral causes related to Spain's national character and its distortion under the impact of imperial wealth were sometimes adduced. Nevertheless, the famous Roman precedent proved inapplicable, f…
International Society
Political science (13 works) · Law (12 works) · Politics (11 works) · Law (9 works) · Philosophy (9 works) · Sociology (8 works) · Political Philosophy and Ethics (7 works) · Epistemology (6 works) · Law and economics (6 works) · Philosophy (6 works)