ABSTRACT
Hume makes an explicit foundational link between the science of man and politics. This chapter investigates what the foundations of politics are. It identifies two supporting but not independent pillars. The scientific foundations of politics rely on the naturalistic premises of artful contrivance and the contraction of habits to deal with the way the world just happens to be for humans. From this naturalistic vantage point, Hume criticizes accounts of politics that invoke contracts, natural rights, and teleology.
