Contagion, Community, and Virtue in Hume’s Epistemology

This chapter elucidates a Humean account of ways in which beliefs are, and ought to be, formed by means of social interactions. The chapter proceeds in three parts. In the first part, it explains, briefly, Hume’s account of belief. In the second, it (1) elucidates Hume’s conception of ’contagion’, a process by which people naturally adopt the passions and opinions of others, (2) clarifies the way that beliefs are acquired by this process, and (3) explains why, in many cases, such ’contagious beliefs’ are extremely difficult, if not impossible, to revise. In the third part, it elucidates a...

This chapter elucidates a Humean account of ways in which beliefs are, and ought to be, formed by means of social interactions. The chapter proceeds in three parts. In the first part, it explains, briefly, Hume’s account of belief. In the second, it (1) elucidates Hume’s conception of ’contagion’, a process by which people naturally adopt the passions and opinions of others, (2) clarifies the way that beliefs are acquired by this process, and (3) explains why, in many cases, such ’contagious beliefs’ are extremely difficult, if not impossible, to revise. In the third part, it elucidates a Humean account of the conditions under which virtuous doxastic agents ought to resist ’contagious beliefs’.