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Dennis C Rasmussen
Lexington Books

Adam Smith and the Death of David Hume: The Letter to Strahan and Related Texts

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AuthorDennis C Rasmussen
PublisherLexington Books
PublishedSep 15 2018
Book FormatHardcover
ISBN-139781498586108
Dimensions9.1 X 6.2 X 0.6 inches
Weight 0.83 pounds
BISAC
CategoriesPhilosophy > Individual Philosophers
LanguageEnglish

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Book Description

The Letter to Strahan is an ostensible letter that Adam Smith wrote on the last days, death, and character of his closest friend, the philosopher David Hume, and published alongside Hume's autobiography, My Own Life, in 1777. Other than his two books, it is the only work that Smith published under his name during his lifetime, and it elicited a great deal of commentary and controversy. Because of Hume's reputation for impiety, Smith's portrayal of his friend's cheerfulness and equanimity during his final days provoked outrage among the devout. Smith later commented that this work brought upon me ten times more abuse than the very violent attack I had made upon the whole commercial system of Great Britain-meaning, of course, The Wealth of Nations. This is the first annotated version of this fascinating and important work. Along with the Letter to Strahan, the volume also includes Hume's My Own Life, the work to which the Letter was a kind of companion piece; two personal letters related to the Letter; and three published responses to the Letter-two viciously critical and one generally favorable. A substantial editor's introduction discusses the context, composition, publication, and significance of the Letter, along with the strong reaction that it provoked. Taken together, the works included in the volume provide an entertaining and accessible entr�e into some of the most controversial debates over religion and morality in the eighteenth century.

Author Bio

Dennis C. Rasmussen is a political theorist whose research focuses on the Enlightenment, the American founding, and the virtues and shortcomings of liberal democracy and market capitalism. He received a Ph.D. from Duke University in 2005 and a B.A. from Michigan State University’s James Madison College in 2000.

Before coming to Syracuse, he held positions at Tufts University, the University of Houston, Brown University and Bowdoin College. He is the author of four books, including “The Infidel and the Professor: David Hume, Adam Smith, and the Friendship That Shaped Modern Thought” (Princeton University Press, 2017), which was shortlisted for the Ralph Waldo Emerson Award and named a best book of the year by The Guardian, Bloomberg, Project Syndicate, Australian Book Review and Five Books.

His most recent book is “Fears of a Setting Sun: The Disillusionment of America's Founders” (Princeton University Press, 2021).

Education

Ph.D., Duke University, 2005

Source: Syracuse University

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