Abstract
In the appendix to his Treatise Hume admits that his
philosophy of mind is defective. Reluctantly he asserts that his thought
has ensnared him in a labyrinth. Referring specifically to the section
in the Treatise on personal identity and the self, the young Scot admits
that he is “involv’d in such a labyrinth, that, I must confess, I neither
know how to correct my former opinions, nor how to render them
consistent.” (Treatise 633) My paper is a critical investigation of this
characterization of Hume’s predicament. I argue (1) that at best
Hume is facing a dilemma, not a labyrinth, and (2) that the dilemma
can be solved, and (3) that the resolution to Hume’s problem can be
found in his conception of intelligibility.