Just Finished Reading: Hume – A Very Short Introduction by A J Ayer.

It is said that David Hume would have been one of England’s greatest philosophers if only he hadn’t been Scottish. That said he was a very important Enlightenment philosopher indeed. Known more during his life as a great historian, Hume was an arch sceptic and some say atheist – though apparently he denied the latter. This short book concentrates on his ideas regarding the philosophy of mind, cause & effect and lastly a short chapter on his thoughts on morality, politics and religion.

This was by no means an easy read (or at least I did not find it easy) being both rather dry and academic. Professor Ayer might have been a towering intellect in Anglo-American philosophic circles but I found his writing style very off-putting. But I persevered and struggled through this short volume. I’ve actually read some of Hume himself and thought he wrote beautifully – unlike Ayer – so have not been put off returning to Hume at a later date – unlike Ayer who I will be avoiding from now on. Hume came up with some interesting ideas (not all of which I agree with) and it will be fruitful I feel to follow them up in his own words. This work however would not have recommended Hume to me and I cannot therefore recommend it to anyone coming to Hume for the first time. Maybe a book for the more seasoned philosophical reader rather than an introduction – short or otherwise.