AIKEN, HENRY DAVID

AIKEN, HENRY DAVID (1912–1982), U.S. philosopher. Aiken was born in Portland, Oregon, and taught at the universities of Columbia, Washington, Harvard (1946–65), and Brandeis (1965–80), specializing in ethics, esthetics, and the history of philosophy. He was influenced by the British analytic movement, by the American naturalists – especially Santayana, and by David Hume's moral and political writings, some of which he edited. Among the works he wrote are The Age of Ideology (1957), selections including a commentary on 19th-century thought; Reason and Conduct (1962), a collection of essays in moral philosophy; and Predicament of the University (1971). (Richard H. Popkin)