Adam Smith and the Death of David Hume

The Letter to Strahan and Related Texts

Nonfiction, History, Modern, 18th Century, Business & Finance, Economics, Economic History, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy
Cover of the book Adam Smith and the Death of David Hume by , Lexington Books
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: ISBN: 9781498586115
Publisher: Lexington Books Publication: September 15, 2018
Imprint: Lexington Books Language: English
Author:
ISBN: 9781498586115
Publisher: Lexington Books
Publication: September 15, 2018
Imprint: Lexington Books
Language: English

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 entrée into some of the most controversial debates over religion and morality in the eighteenth century.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

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 entrée into some of the most controversial debates over religion and morality in the eighteenth century.

More books from Lexington Books

Cover of the book Unconventional, Partisan, and Polarizing Rhetoric by
Cover of the book Many Heavens, One Earth by
Cover of the book The Daily Show and Rhetoric by
Cover of the book New Ways of Being Pentecostal in Latin America by
Cover of the book Straussophobia by
Cover of the book John Henry Newman on the Nature of the Mind by
Cover of the book Coexistentialism and the Unbearable Intimacy of Ecological Emergency by
Cover of the book Studies in Urbanormativity by
Cover of the book Privatization and the New Medical Pluralism by
Cover of the book Mosh the Polls by
Cover of the book The 1956 Suez War and the New World Order in the Middle East by
Cover of the book Contextualizing Africans and Globalization by
Cover of the book Contemporary Christian Culture by
Cover of the book Thinking Jewish Culture in America by
Cover of the book Civic Failure and Its Threat to Democracy by
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy