Hume's Theory of Justice and Property

Abstract

This chapter examines one aspect of David Hume’s social and political philosophy: his theory of justice and property and its place in the wider context of his theory of society. Hume's account of the origin of justice and property is an established landmark of social and political thought. Hume's arguments against the theory of natural justice were directed against all three naturalistic traditions, but the theory of natural sentiment was particularly misleading on this subject, he believed. Justice, for Hume, denoted the kind of relationship that would be appropriate for men considered as owners of property. As such that relationship would have to reflect a measure of equality in human relations sufficient to enable us to recognize others as owners of property. Hume's discussion of 'the rules which determine property' reflects, perhaps not surprisingly, his legal studies at Edinburgh University.

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