Os fundamentos da justiça: a origem do governo, o contrato original e o utilitarismo em David Hume

Abstract

The present dissertation aims to demonstrate the main aspects of the political philosophy of David Hume. For this, we will analyze his most famous works and essays, such as the Treatise of Human Nature, An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals, and the Essays, Moral, Political, and Literary. These three works served as pillars to try to understand, using Humean moral philosophy as the starting point, the bases used by Hume to indicate some elements that will demonstrate the impossibility of reducing his theory to natural law, utilitarianism and contractualism. For this, we will explain the origin of justice, with undeniable participation of feelings, and as an artificial and unnatural virtue; of government as being established through war or usurpation and not by popular consent; the right to private property based on rules and civil laws useful and beneficial to society. In addition, we will briefly review some contractualist theories in counterpoint to Hume's political theory that seeks to understand men in social life, considering their selfish interests and their achievements through the device of justice. It will be evaluated, in the end, if, in fact, David Hume was a utilitarian or just a precursor of utilitarianism, a position that according to this dissertation is more adequate his works.