Adam Smith and the death of David Hume : the Letter to Strahan and related texts / edited by Dennis C. Rasmussen.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Hume, David, 1711-1776, contributor, addressee.

Smith, Adam, 1723-1790, contributor.

Strahan, William, 1715-1785, addressee.

Rasmussen, Dennis C. (Dennis Carl), 1978- editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Hume, David, 1711-1776.

Hume, David.

Hume, David, 1711-1776. Correspondence.

Smith, Adam, 1723-1790. Correspondence.

Smith, Adam.

Smith, Adam, 1723-1790.

Genre:

Records and correspondence.

Physical Description:

ix, 97 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Lanham ; New York : Lexington Books/Fortress Academic, [2018]

Summary:

"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. --Provided by the publisher.

Contents:

My own life / David Hume

Letter from Adam Smith, LL.D. to William Strahan, Esq.

James Edmonstoune to David Hume, 7 August 1776

Adam Smith to Alexander Wedderburn, 14 August 1776

A letter to Adam Smith LL.D. on the life, death, and philosophy of his friend David Hume Esq., by one of the people called Christians / George Horne

Remarks on Dr. Adam Smith's letter to Mr. Strahan, on the death of David Hume Esq. / "E. M."

Observations relative to the late David Hume, Esq. / "Idem."

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Adam Smith and the death of David Hume

ISBN:

9781498586108

1498586104

OCLC:

1040228544

Publisher Number:

99978847256