Minutes of the Annual Business Meeting

of the Hume Society

28 July 2001

The business meeting was called to order by Saul Traiger, President of the Hume Society, at 17:00. The agenda was announced as follows:

(1) Report of the President

(2) Report of the Secretary-Treasurer

(3) Report by the Editors of Hume Studies

(4) Other business.

Saul asked whether there were any objection to moving the President's report to third place on the agenda, to allow others to present sub-reports; there were no objections.

(2) Secretary-Treasurer's Report:

Mikael M. Karlsson, Secretary-Treasurer submitted a balance sheet for the year 2000 and an interim balance sheet for the period 01.01.01-30.06.01, along with a report from the Secretariat. He explained that, as he has been on a research leave, the figures would need to be checked when he returns to Iceland in mid-August. The balance sheets and written report, with any necessary corrections, will be put on the Society's web site before the end of August. Subject to correction, he reported that the Hume Society's assets, expressed in US dollars, amounted to $32,034.97 as of 31 December 2000, and to $35,250.01 as of 30 June 2001. In his written report, he described the main features of the new web site at <www.humesociety.org>; the new web site is a central element in the development of a "permanent business office", as approved by the membership in the elections at the end of the year 2000. Mike also gave a preliminary report about the results of the dues increase approved at the same time, and announced that the Executive Committee had recently voted to discontinue the printed version of the Bulletin of the Hume Society.

(3) Hume Studies Report:

Elizabeth Radcliffe reported for the Editors of Hume Studies. The April 2001 issue will be printed at the end of the summer and the November 2001 issue will appear early in 2002. The journal is making use of various professional services, including typesetting. Even so, the journal's finances are in good order; Hume Studies had an ending balance of $11,263.35 for the fiscal year 01.07.00-30.06.01. As a matter of information, Elizabeth reported that the acceptance rate for Hume Studies is about 20%, including re-submissions. The full editorial report will be put on the Society's website before the end of August.

(1) President's Report:

(a) Saul reported that the Hume Society has committed $2,000 per year in in on-going support for graduate students attending Hume Conferences.

(b) Hume Conferences are being planned through 2006: 2002 - Helsinki; 2003 - Las Vegas (Contact person: Craig Walton); 2004 - Tokyo (Contact person: Tatsuya Sakamoto); 2005 - Toronto (Contact persons: Don Ainslie, Stanley Tweyman, David Owen); 2006 - Koblenz (Contact person: Rudolph Lüthe). The 2002 and 2003 locations are definite. 2004 – 2006 sites are in the proposal stage.

(c) Wade Robison was asked to report on the planning for the Helsinki conference, "Born for Action? Born for Reason?", which will be held 6-10 August 2002. Wade is chairman of the organizing committee, which also includes Mikael M. Karlsson, Timo Airaksinen and Olli Luokola.

Wade reported that the organizers have decided to extend the September 1st submission deadline by a month, to October 1st. Regular submissions and submissions for the special advertised symposium must be received by that date in electronic form.

Wade reported that there will be only one invited speaker, Prof. Lilli Alanen of Uppsala University. Four persons are bing invited to convene and organize panels on themes of enduring interest; they are Jacqueline Taylor, Ted Morris, David Owen, and one presently anonymous. Two people will be invited to offer "book revival" sessions, discussing older books about Hume's philosophy which may still be worthy of our attention.

Those interested in chairing and/or commenting should send their names to Wade.

Expenses for the Helsinki conferences should be modest. The organizers believe that the registration fee can be kept to $50. Accommodation in Helsinki starts at $60 per night for single rooms, $70 for double rooms. All the hotels which have been booked are in the downtown area, close to the Conference Center. The banquet may have to run as high as $80, due to the cost of wine. An alcohol-free option may be offered.

A day-trip to Tallin, in Estonia, has been planned into the program. The ferry fare will be about $30. For those interested in a post-conference visit to St. Petersburg, train tickets and accommodation will be arranged by a travel agency working for the conference.

Information is being placed regularly on the conference web site, best accessed through the Society's home page.

(d) Don Ainslie was called upon to provide a preliminary report on planning for the Toronto conference. The tentative dates proposed for the Toronto meeting are July 20-24, 2005, and the proposed theme is: "Hume and the French: From Montaigne to Rousseau" which is meant to encompass such sub-themes as 'Hume the essayist', 'Hume the sceptic', and 'Hume the mediator' (i.e. the cultural mediator between the French and the English, the personal mediator with Rousseau, and the philosophical mediator between the abstruse and the vulgar).

(e) Saul reported that representitives for the various APA divisional meetings are currently being appointed or reconfirmed. All divisional meetings should be covered. Saul invited those interested in organizing similar representation at non-American professional meetings to contact him in that regard.

(4) Other Business:

(a) Mike reminded members of the EC election which will be held in the fall. Three regular members of the EC must be elected to three-year terms. Those whose terms will expire at the end of 2001 are Tito Magri, Tony Pitson and John Wright; John Wright will not be eligible for re-election.

(b) Rick McCarty made the following motion, which was seconded and passed unanimously:

Whereas, the 28th Hume Conference has been held in this year, 2001, at Dunsmuir Lodge in Victoria, British Columbia, and hosted by the University of Victoria; and whereas, all arrangements, contrivances and other special accommodations have been painstakingly and generously provided by the Conference Organizers, to wit,

David Norton, Don Garrett, Paul Wood and James Tulley

with the assistance of

Leslie Solojuk and the staff of Dunsmuir Lodge

and sponsored and supported by

The Dean of Humanities, The Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences,

The Humanities Centre, The President, The Vice-President Academic

and Provost and the Vice-President Research of the University of

Victoria and The Department of Philosophy, UNC Chapel Hill

be it hereby known that the Hume Society is grateful for these provided arrangements, contivances and special accommodations and that its loyal members express that gratitude to those above mentioned, on this occasion of the completion of the 28th Hume Conference.

No further business being at hand, the meeting was adjourned at 17:53.

Respectfully submitted,

Mikael M. Karlsson

Secretary-Treasurer