Louis-Ferdinand Céline:

"Since we are nothing but packages of tepid, half-rotted viscera, we shall always have trouble with sentiment.”

W H Auden:

"But in my arms till break of day / Let the living creature lie. / Mortal, guilty, but to me/ The entirely beautiful."

Sunday, May 08, 2011

David Hume, for whom Adam Smith called Samuel Johnson the son of a whore, is now 300

ROBERT ZARETSKY says:

"TODAY is the 300th birthday of David Hume, the most important philosopher ever to write in English, according to The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. The conferences being held on Hume this year in Austria, the Czech Republic, Russia, Finland and Brazil suggest that the encyclopedia’s claim is perhaps too modest..."( The NYT, May 6 2011)

(any thing in India?)

Here are five posts, containing David Hume, on this blog:

1. Why, why no David Hume, Vinda?

2. Will Jayant Narlikar One Day Write Marathi Sceptical Essays?

3. Why Vinda Karandikar Didn't Choose David Hume

4. Evening of September 3 2003- Dilip Chitre followed by Vinda Karandikar

5. Why Minus Times a Minus Equals a Plus?

George Scialabba on Adam Smith who was a bosom friend of David Hume:

"...He never fell afoul of civil or religious authority, had no mistresses, and engaged in no public quarrels.
(A semi-public one, though. Shortly after Hume’s death, Smith met Samuel Johnson at a party. Johnson spoke slightingly of Hume, Smith defended him, and their exchanges grew increasingly heated until Johnson exclaimed, “Sir, you lie!” To which Smith retorted, “Sir, you are the son of a whore!” and stalked out.).."