Abstract

The paper focuses on Hume's and Mandeville's social philosophy, by presenting it as a specific theory for the explanation of social stability and order in terms of a dynamics of the passions. Both of them recognize the central role that «pride» plays in this dynamics, but they explain differently the anatomy of the specific process of socialization: Mandeville explains it on the basis of «politeness», whereas Hume focuses on «good manners». Hume's «science of man» offers a systematic explanation of the invention of «good manners» as an artificial instrument of social coordination, involving the principles of sympathy, convention, and ethical opinion.