Arguments for the Idealist Interpretation

In this chapter, I defend the Idealist interpretation of the belief about “bodies” Hume ascribes to us (both vulgar and philosophers), according to which we can only think about perceptions, and not, as the Materialist Hume claims, about material bodies. First, I adduce some explicit statements Hume makes that show he endorses the Idealist construal of object terms. Second, I argue that the cognitive/semantic considerations Hume adduces when characterising the belief in “bodies” suggest (after some interpretative work) that we can only think of perceptions. Third, I show that some of the argumentative moves he makes, for instance in his discussion of Nominalism, much better comport with the Idealist interpretation.