Lusty Women and Loose Imagination: Hume’s Philosophical Anthropology of Chastity

Abstract

The theme is sexual regulation, and its necessity in the light of the dynamics of sex and reproduction, as outlined in Hume’s philosophy. The focus is on his treatment of chastity. The analysis uncovers some more general anthropological assumptions and their bearing upon what Rawls calls the ‘circumstances of justice’. The interplay between chastity as an artificial convention and its natural foundations is developed. Hume’s version of the ‘double-standard’ is identified and the role of socialisation emphasised.