ABSTRACT
Readers of the Adam Smith Review will probably be familiar, at least to some extent, with the content covered by the Rasmussen, and indeed those who are experts on the literature about Smith and Hume might find little new. Dennis C. Rasmussen also discusses comprehensively how they influenced each other intellectually, especially how Smith’s writings can be seen as a response to Hume’s ideas. In addition, Adam Smith discusses the cultural and societal background, in which Hume and Smith were living. Rasmussen goes as far as arguing that Smith’s ‘friendship with Hume was the only real strike against’ someone who was ‘widely liked and respected among his contemporaries’. Impartiality is a tricky yardstick in the historical accounts, but it is obvious throughout the book that the Rasmussen is fond of both Hume and Smith.
