cover image Philosopher: A Kind of Life

Philosopher: A Kind of Life

Ted Honderich, Prof Honderich. Routledge, $90 (472pp) ISBN 978-0-415-23697-3

Although he eventually held the Grote Professorship of Mind and Logic at University College in London, Honderich (How Free Are You; Conservativism) was slow to feel the pull of philosophy. In this rather pedantic and exhausting memoir, he recounts his journey from a lonely Canadian childhood to a career in that field. When he arrives at college, he embraces literature and literary studies, though he is an undisciplined student. Nevertheless, realizing that he has a gift for writing lively prose, Honderich supplements his studies with a job at the Toronto Star, where he becomes one of the paper's principal reporters and travels with a number of celebrities, including Elvis. It is at this time that the philosophical life begins to attract him. With his new wife, Margaret, Honderich goes off to London to study with his favorite philosopher, A.J. Ayer; after a number of teaching jobs, Honderich is eventually appointed to the chair once held by his beloved teacher. Always a realist--believing that reality is to be found only in the material world--he quickly aligns himself with David Hume's philosophy that every event in our lives has a determinate cause. Honderich's philosophy has been marked by his struggle to explain morality, passion and emotion by his theory of causation, yet his memoir focuses as much on his randy sexual appetite as on his philosophy. Furthermore, Honderich writes so often in a passive, third-person voice that readers may wonder if he is describing himself or someone else. Photos. (Feb. 9) Forecast: Bertrand Russell, Honderich isn't. Other than admirers of the author and of Ayer, it's difficult to imagine who will be interested in this title--especially in the U.S., given the book's intense British context.