A Motivation Analysis of Hume s Skepticism and its Affect on Hume s Atheistic Reputation: an Attempt to Acquit Hume of Skepticism

There is always an inevitable conflict between Hume’s naturalistic ambitions and his skeptical judgments. Some of his contemporary critics accused him of atheism because the foundations of his naturalistic system restricted the human knowledge to the human nature, thus destroying his contemporary naturalistic apologies. After Hume’s death, his critics provided a naturalistic interpretation of his philosophical system. In this paper, we will first show that Hume’s ambitions for establishment of ethics led him to the human nature, making his research fall into a skeptical trap. We will then evaluate the truth or falsity of the atheistic or skeptical accusation through an analysis of the Humean thought, an investigation of his critics and advocates, and an exposition of hidden motivations behind his skepticisms. In the end, we seek to free his naturalism from skepticism, showing that even his skeptically-oriented research is in conflict with consequences of denying God. We have found that skepticism is not an instrument for undermining intellectual foundations; it is instead a bridge for reaching the goal. Thus, Hume deserves to be called a “Rational Moralist.”