https://retractionwatch.com/2023/02/02/d...ore-126494
EXCERPTS: . . . David Hume is widely regarded as one of the most influential philosophers of his or any age. His writings on causality, reason, and empiricism, as well as his history of England, were considered masterpieces when they appeared in the 18th century.
In 1757, Hume published a collection of previously released works under the title “Four Dissertations,” which helped – if that’s the right word – cement his reputation as one of the age’s leading skeptics about religion.
Hume wasn’t known for holding his tongue, particularly about Christianity; his abundance of candor cost him academic positions and, occasionally, friendships (both Samuel Johnson and James Boswell decried his lack of piety).
But according to The Infidel and the Professor, a delightful 2017 book by Dennis Rasmussen about the close friendship between Hume and another famous Scottsman, Adam Smith, Hume was not immune to second thoughts. Missing from “Four Dissertations” were two earlier essays in which he’d questioned “the immorality of suicide and the immortality of the soul.”
Evidently, Hume had decided to withdraw the two articles from the collection at the urging of his friends because he feared they would spark outrage from the devout – that is to say, pretty much everyone in positions of authority in that era. In their place he substituted an essay on the less tendentious but non-trivial question of how to measure taste, sure to animate salons but hardly likely to trigger calls for excommunication... (MORE - missing details)
EXCERPTS: . . . David Hume is widely regarded as one of the most influential philosophers of his or any age. His writings on causality, reason, and empiricism, as well as his history of England, were considered masterpieces when they appeared in the 18th century.
In 1757, Hume published a collection of previously released works under the title “Four Dissertations,” which helped – if that’s the right word – cement his reputation as one of the age’s leading skeptics about religion.
Hume wasn’t known for holding his tongue, particularly about Christianity; his abundance of candor cost him academic positions and, occasionally, friendships (both Samuel Johnson and James Boswell decried his lack of piety).
But according to The Infidel and the Professor, a delightful 2017 book by Dennis Rasmussen about the close friendship between Hume and another famous Scottsman, Adam Smith, Hume was not immune to second thoughts. Missing from “Four Dissertations” were two earlier essays in which he’d questioned “the immorality of suicide and the immortality of the soul.”
Evidently, Hume had decided to withdraw the two articles from the collection at the urging of his friends because he feared they would spark outrage from the devout – that is to say, pretty much everyone in positions of authority in that era. In their place he substituted an essay on the less tendentious but non-trivial question of how to measure taste, sure to animate salons but hardly likely to trigger calls for excommunication... (MORE - missing details)