HJUMOVA TEORIJA MOTIVACIJE: PROBLEM MIRNIH STRASTI
HUME’S THEORY OF MOTIVATION: THE PROBLEM OF CALM PASSIONS

Summary/Abstract: It is often claimed that Hume’s doctrine of calm passions represents a text-book case of an ad hoc supposition introduced to save Hume’s theory of motivation from insurmountable objections. One famous example of this sort of criticism can be found in the writings of Barry Stroud, who claims that Hume’s doctrine of calm passions cannot avoid circularity and, more importantly, it directly contradicts one of Hume’s fundamental principles—i.e. the ‘incorrigibility thesis’—according to which we cannot be mistaken about the contents of our own minds at any given moment. Although it is hard to deny that Straud’s objections have certain philosophical appeal, I will argue that there is a way to save Hume’s doctrine of calm passions. Following arguments presented by Daniel Shaw, I will defend the claim that calm passion should be understood as unactualized dispositions.

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