Hume’s Science of Mind and Newtonianism

Abstract This chapter explores the prospects and consequences of various ways to forge Newtonian connections to Hume’s philosophy. Two points of view are offered from which these connections are visible and evaluable: first, Hume’s experimental method for the studying of the mind, particularly his reliance on analysis, synthesis and successive approximations in relation to Newton’s method and Newton-inspired methodologies; and second, the relation of Hume’s model of the mind to Newton’s model of the natural world, particularly the congruence of Hume’s theory of association with the chemical idea of elective affinities as opposed to gravity. In conclusion, the chapter summarizes the significance of these connections for competing interpretations of Hume’s science of the mind.