Projection and Realism in Hume's Philosophy

Hume talks of our 'gilding and staining' natural objects, and of the mind's propensity to 'spread itself' on the world. This has led commentators to use the metaphor of 'projection' in connection with his philosophy: Hume is held to have taught that causal power and self are projections, that God is a projection of our fear, and that value is a projection of sentiment. In Projection and Realism in Hume's Philosophy, P. J. E. Kail provides a fresh interpretation of this metaphor and uses it to shed new light on some of Hume's central ideas.