Dennis Rasmussen

Political Theory
Assistant Professor
Ph.D., Duke University, 2005

Biography

Dennis Rasmussen teaches courses in the history of political philosophy and contemporary political theory, and his research focuses particularly on Enlightenment and Counter-Enlightenment thought. His first book, The Problems and Promise of Commercial Society: Adam Smith's Response to Rousseau (Penn State University Press, 2008), received an Honorable Mention for the Delba Winthrop Award for Excellence in Political Science, and his articles have appeared in the American Political Science Review, History of Political Thought, and the Adam Smith Review. His current book project, entitled In Defense of the Enlightenment Project, seeks to defend the Enlightenment against recent complaints about its alleged blind faith in reason, hegemonic universalism, naive optimism, and atomistic individualism, concentrating especially on the thought of Montesquieu, Voltaire, Diderot, David Hume, and Adam Smith. Professor Rasmussen received his BA from Michigan State University's James Madison College in 2000 and his PhD from Duke University in 2005, and he has previously taught at Bowdoin College, Brown University, and the University of Houston.

Publications

Books

• The Problems and Promise of Commercial Society: Adam Smith's Response to Rousseau (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2008)

Articles

• "Does 'Bettering Our Condition' Really Make Us Better Off?: Adam Smith on Progress and Happiness" American Political Science Review 100.3 (August 2006): 309-18
• "Rousseau's 'Philosophical Chemistry' and the Foundations of Adam Smith's Thought" History of Political Thought 27.4 (Autumn 2006): 620-41
• "Whose Impartiality? Which Self-Interest?: Adam Smith on Utility, Happiness, and Cultural Relativism" Adam Smith Review 4 (2008): 247-53

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