Who the Hell is David Hume?: and what are his theories all about? - Who the Hell is...?

For students, teachers and curious minds, our carefully structured jargon-free series helps you really get to grips with brilliant intellectuals and their inherently complex theories. Written in an accessible and engaging way, each book takes you through the life and influences of these great thinkers, then takes a deep dive into three of their key theories in plain English. Smart thinking made easy!

Known as an essayist and historian in his day, this great Scot, David Hume, went on to become one of the most revered philosophers of the Enlightenment. Who the Hell is David Hume? takes you through his life and times, tracing his thoughts and his influences, before examining three of his key ideas in detail. His contribution to empiricism has influenced a whole host of modern philosophers, and his thoughts on causation and induction, free will and determinism, and reason and morality have become embedded into our culture, making Hume as relevant today as he was in his own lifetime.

Reviews

"As a teacher and examiner of Religious Studies and Philosophy, an aspect of the book I like is the author's use of Hume's original 18th Century text, which he then goes onto explain in a clear and concise way, and reinforces understanding through the use of real world examples. The latter is essential with regards to A-Level RS/Philosophy AO1 - Knowledge and Understanding - exam questions, as when we mark responses, the students who tend to achieve the higher marks are those who are not only able to refer to theory, but are able to prove they understand what they say through clear examples and development.
In addition to the above, I believe university students will especially benefit from the author's extensive bibliography, which could prove invaluable when writing an essay on Hume, and needing to refer to other scholarly works. To sum up, if you are new to teaching or studying philosophy, and are finding texts dealing with Hume's ideas difficult to digest, this book will equip you with the skills to get to grips with the basics of Hume's contribution to philosophy, which in turn will make it much easier to move onto the more detailed and complex areas of Hume's theory."
Adam Naylor, Teacher of Religion & Ethics, Jcoss Secondary School, London

"As a student of The University of Edinburgh, David Hume pops up everywhere! However, the classes I take only touch lightly on his work to compliment the main topic. So even though I see his name regularly, I only knew parts of his work at a very basic level. This book filled in all the gaps without over complications in language or in structure, which is exactly what I needed. I also enjoyed the timelines and pictures of places of interest regarding Hume, especially since I study in one of them!"
Claire Allison, Masters student in Psychology & Linguistics at Edinburgh University. Instagram: clairely_psyched