Historical Dictionary of Hume's Philosophy

Angela Michelle Coventry is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Portland State University. Her major area of research includes Early Modern Philosophy (17th and 18th Century Continental and British). She is the author of two books and has published several articles and book reviews in journals.Kenneth R. Merrill is professor of philosophy emeritus and former department chair at the University of Oklahoma, where he taught for 47 years. His research interests are mainly in 17th and 18th-century British and continental philosophy and American philosophy. He has published essays and book chapters in those areas and has presented papers in a variety of scholarly venues.

This second edition is not a complete revamping of the first (CH, Mar'09, 46-3594), but it is enough of an updating and expansion to warrant purchase by those who own the earlier edition. Merrill (Univ. of Oklahoma) was the sole author of the first edition, and here he is joined by Coventry (Portland State Univ.), who has put her stamp on the work by increasing the number of entries from 112 to 148; the page count from 350 to 373; and the pages in the bibliography from 71 to 99. New entries include important and relevant topics missing from the first edition—for example, aesthetics, beauty, convention (central to Hume’s philosophy), race, and sexual passion. The entry on women from the first edition is now split into two entries, one on feminism and one on women. . . The second edition is a few centimeters larger in size and is printed on more attractive, cream-colored paper, which makes it easier to hold and more pleasant to read. This will be a helpful and welcome study aid for anyone seeking to learn and understand the thought and life of one of the most significant modern philosophers in the Western tradition.Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty.