It is widely believed that Hume often wrote carelessly and contradicted himself, and that no unified, sound philosophy emerges from his writings. Through a careful examination of Hume's views about understanding and cognition, Garrett demonstrates that such criticisms of Hume are without basis and that Hume presents a rich philosophy with historical importance and contemporary significance.

"A significant contribution to Hume studies."--Jonathan Bennett, Syracuse University "I know of no other writer on Hume who has been this assiduous in finding interpretive difficulties in the text and then taking them head on....Beautifully written."--Robert J. Fogelin, Dartmouth College "A significant contribution to Hume studies."--Jonathan Bennett, Syracuse University "I know of no other writer on Hume who has been this assiduous in finding interpretive difficulties in the text and then taking them head on....Beautifully written."--Robert J. Fogelin, Dartmouth College "Garrett's Cognition and Commitment is a first-rate interpretive study, one that unties a great many interpretive knots."--Ethics "Garrett seeks mainly to show that Hume's position is internally consistent and to build a portrait of Hume as essentially a cognitive psychologist."--The Review of Metaphysics