The Infidel and the Professor: David Hume, Adam Smith, and the Friendship That Shaped Modern Thought

The story of the greatest of all philosophical friendships—and how it influenced modern thought

David Hume is arguably the most important philosopher ever to have written in English, but during his lifetime he was attacked as “the Great Infidel” for his religious skepticism and deemed unfit to teach the young. In contrast, Adam Smith, now hailed as the founding father of capitalism, was a revered professor of moral philosophy. Remarkably, Hume and Smith were best friends, sharing what Dennis...