Lék na zlořády stranictví: Humův vliv na Madisonův "List federalistů č. 10"

Abstract

According to Douglass Greybill Adair’s influential interpretation, when James Madison was formulating his famous theses on the benefits of a large republic, he was influenced by his reading of David Hume’s essays. However, as far back as the 1980s, Edmund Morgan sharply criticized Adair, claiming that Madison had only been inspired by his political career and not by the reading of theoretical works. In addition, Morgan attempted to show that Hume’s and Madison’s theories of partisanship only give the appearance of being similar, while in reality they contradict one another. The intent of this article is to show that Morgan’s much discussed critique is based on a misleading interpretation of Hume’s theory, and that Madison truly found inspiration in his reading of the philosopher’s works. By analyzing not just Hume’s essays but other of his writings, the author also proves that this influence on Madison is much greater than the traditional interpretive literature has taken into account.

Keywords

• david hume
• james madison
• political philosophy
• partisanship
• factions