Atheist and Professor
About this book
Atheist and Professorb Two great Scottish enlightenment masters, David Hume and Adam Smith.The great philosophical friendship that has had a great influence on modern thought!This is because it deals with the “friendship” of two great thinkers. This is because friendships are much harder to reproduce than disagreements and fights. Conflict helps with dramatic drama, but not comradeship. So there are many books about philosophical conflict, but much less about philosophical friendship. Humes biographies also pay more attention to the brief clash with Rousseau than to his long friendship with Smith. Explore Adam Smiths longstanding friendship as the founder. From their first encounter in 1749 to Humes death in 1776, they follow the trend of friendship, examining both their personal interactions and their influence on each others worldview. Uncover how they commented on each others writings, how they supported their work and their literary ambitions, and how they advised each other on personal matters. As a member of the Scottish Enlightenment intellectual community, Hume and Smith made the same friends (and enemies), joined the same social group, and were interested in many of the same topics besides philosophy and economics. The book reveals that Smiths innate view of religion is much closer to Humes open view of religion than is commonly thought. It also shows that Hume contributed more to economics than many knew (and Smith contributed more to philosophy).