"It is hard to find a philosopher who writes well. One can list the good stylists on one hand: Bernard Williams, for the clear frankness of his prose; Stanley Cavell, whose writing self-reflectively folds in on itself like origami; Friedrich Nietzsche, whose dazzle and exclamation seduce many people into questionable ideas. David Hume is typically seen as part of this crowd. The 18th-century Scottish philosopher wrote in many genres: not only essays, dissertations and treatises, but dialogues, impersonated monologues and biographies."
"What is a character sketch? It is a short description of a person, a social type, which focuses on their habitual preferences and behaviours. Imagine describing a type of person: an incel, an intellectual, a mansplainer. You might start by saying that they are 'the kind of person who...' The incel is a kind of person who lives in their parents' basement, who knows the latest memes, and who politically probably leans far Right, or at least libertarian."
David Hume wrote across multiple literary genres, including essays, dialogues, impersonated monologues and biographies, and admired contemporary literary figures such as Joseph Addison and Jean de La Bruyère. He aimed to bridge the gap between learned scholars and conversable society. Hume challenged the legitimacy of the character sketch as a philosophical method, thereby contributing to a growing separation between literature and philosophy. A character sketch is a brief description of a social type that emphasizes habitual preferences and behaviors. Contemporary examples include the incel, the intellectual, and the mansplainer, each described by predictable traits and political tendencies.
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