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Dromelet, Catherine

L'habitude chez Hume : fondement non rationnel de la réflexion

2016 - Bibliopolis

P. 127-151

  • Custom has a peculiar status in the philosophy of David Hume. Custom or habit are two words for this concept in English, and French translations provide even more synonyms. What is habitude, coutume, accoutumance, according to Hume? This paper aims to assert that we must distinguish between two speech levels in the philosopher's use of the concept of habit. We will show his specific use of the terms custom and habit in his Treatise and in the first Enquiry, in order to highlight the dynamic opposition between two distinct effects of the same metaphysic principle – namely the custom and habit, or shortly: custom. We will see how, thanks to this dynamics, Hume's skepticism towards reason gives way to an original design of thought, which oscillates between habits that program it, and a habit that makes it evolve. [Publisher's text]

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Studi filosofici : annali dell'Istituto universitario orientale [AION] : XXXIX, 2016