The Mind as a Kind of Theatre: A Critical Study of Buddhist Influence in David Hume's Treatise of Human Nature

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History (MA)

Haverschmidt, David (2017)

The Mind as a Kind of Theatre: A Critical Study of Buddhist Influence in David Hume's Treatise of Human Nature

Master thesis | History (MA)

Philosophers have long noted the striking similarities between the metaphysics in Hume's Treatise of Human Nature and certain aspects of Buddhist doctrine. More recently, Alison Gopnik (2009) has also claimed to have discovered a possible historical link between Hume and Buddhist thought. This study looks at both the philosophical parallels and the historical evidence, such as Gopnik's claims regarding Hume's interaction with the Jesuits of La Flèche, but also the influence of Pierre Bayle, as well as Hume's familiarity with Sextus Empiricus' Outlines of Pyrrhonism, a book from the 2nd century which may in turn have been influenced by early Buddhist ideas. Despite the significant philosophical parallels and the possibility of Buddhist influence on Hume, the study concludes that the evidence is too sparse, too weak, and too circumstantial to claim that Hume was influenced by Buddhism.

David Hume

History of Ideas

Comparative Philosophy