Naturalistic Tendencies in the Philosophy of David Hume

Naturalism as a general philosophical strategy became a popular topic of philosophical debates during the last half of century, however, its roots go deeper into the history of philosophical thought. One of the authors in whose works some elements of philosophical naturalism are undoubtedly identifiable is David Hume. The aim of the paper is to shed light on some naturalistic tendencies in Hume's philosophy, which, as I will argue, can be considered as inspiring even today. Such is his approach to his "new science of man", within which his inclination towards methodological naturalism can be found. Naturalistic tendencies can be identified in Hume's views regarding knowledge and understanding, especially with regard to the problem of skepticism. The study also outlines a possible naturalistic interpretation of Hume's moral philosophy.