Tamás Demeter, born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1975. Ph.D. from the Technical University of Budapest. Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Philosophical Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest.
Mellon Fellow (1 February 2009 – 30 June 2009)
HUME AND THE IDEOLOGY OF THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION
I have been studying David Hume’s philosophy in the context of 17th and 18th century science. Initially I had planned to focus exclusively on his epistemology and metaphysics, but my project has split into two. I am still focusing on the relevance of these problems in the context of the scientific revolution, but in addition I now also believe that his “science of man” that he develops in his Treatise on Human Nature can be interpreted in such a way that it finds its organic place in the context of Enlightenment vitalism. Thus, at the moment I am working on two projects within a single framework, relying more or less on the same material. I have finished and revised several papers, and have managed to integrate parts of my research with that of both theme groups at NIAS, contributing to their ongoing projects.