Custom and Reason in Hume: A Kantian Reading of the First Book of the Treatise

Henry Allison's central thesis is that David Hume's *Treatise of Human Nature*, Book I, can be fruitfully reinterpreted through a Kantian lens, revealing a more coherent and systematic philosophical project than traditionally understood. Allison argues that Hume's epistemological commitments, particularly concerning the role of custom and association in forming our beliefs about causality and the external world, align with and anticipate key Kantian transcendental arguments. The book demonstrates how Hume's empirical investigations into the origins of ideas and impressions implicitly lay the groundwork for a critique of pure reason, suggesting that Hume's skepticism is not a destructive force but rather a necessary precursor to establishing the limits and conditions of human knowledge.

Readers will gain a deeper understanding of the connections between Humean empiricism and Kantian transcendental idealism, appreciating how Hume's analysis of psychological mechanisms for belief formation anticipates Kant's concern with the a priori structures of the mind. The key takeaways include a revised understanding of Hume's project as concerned with the necessary conditions for experience and a Kantian reading of his skepticism as a critique of unjustified metaphysical claims. This approach offers a novel perspective on the historical development of modern philosophy.

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Key concepts

• Transcendental Argument — An argument that establishes the necessary conditions for the possibility of experience.
• Custom (Hume) — The principle of association that explains our propensity to believe in causal connections based on repeated experience.
• Synthetic A Priori — Knowledge that is necessary and universal but not derived solely from experience.
• Scheme (Kant) — The mediating concept that connects a pure concept of the understanding with an empirical intuition.
• Association of Ideas (Hume) — The psychological principle by which thoughts or impressions tend to recur together.