The Theory of Moral Sentiments / Edition 1

About the Author:
Born in Kirkcaldy, Scotland, in 1723, Adam Smith delivered a series of public lectures in Edinburgh beginning in 1748. The success of these lectures led ultimately to Smith's election to the Chair of Moral Philosophy at the University of Glasgow in 1752, where he distinguished himself as a teacher. Every morning of the term, Smith lectured his high-school-age audience in natural theology, ethics, and jurisprudence. The Theory of Moral Sentiments is a re-working of the ethics segment of his yearly cycle of lectures.

ISBN-13: 9780865970120

Media Type: Paperback

Publisher: Liberty Fund - Incorporated

Publication Date: 07-31-1982

Pages: 422

Product Dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.25(d)

Age Range: 18 Years

Series: Glasgow Edition of the Works and Correspondence of Adam Smith

Adam Smith was born in Scotland, in 1723, and received his early education at the local burgh school. He subsequently attended Glasgow University (1737-1740), and Balliol College, Oxford (1740-1746). Two years after his return to Scotland, Smith moved to Edinburgh, where he delivered lectures on Rhetoric. In 1751 Smith was appointed Professor of Logic at Glasgow, but was translated to chair of Moral Philosophy in 1752. The Theory of Moral Sentiments was published in 1759, and The Wealth of Nations in 1776, the same year as the Declaration of Independence. Amartya Sen (introduction) is a Nobel Prize-winning economist, known for his work on the way economics affects the well-being of humans. Formerly the Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, he is now the Thomas W. Lamont University Professor of Economics and Philosophy at Harvard University. His many books include Development as Freedom, Identity and Violence, and The Idea of Justice. Ryan Patrick Hanley (editor) is the author of Adam Smith and the Character of Virtue and Our Great Purpose: Adam Smith on Living a Better Life, and the editor of Adam Smith: His Life, Thought, and Legacy. A professor of political science at Boston College, he has been the recipient of fellowships from the Mellon Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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From the Publisher

"One of the truly outstanding books in the intellectual history of the world...A global manifesto of profound significance to the interdependent world in which we live. It is indeed a book of amazing reach and contemporary relevance."
-Amartya Sen, from the Introduction

Table of Contents

PART I: of the propriety of action, consisting of three sections
SECTION I: Of the sense of propriety
SECTION II: Of the degrees of the different passions which are consistent with propriety
SECTION III: Of the effects of prosperity and adversity upon the judgment of mankind with regard to the propriety of action; and why it is more easy to obtain their approbation in the one state than in the other
PART II: of merit and demerit; or, of the objects of reward and punishment; consisting of three sections
SECTION I: Of the sense of merit and demerit
SECTION II: Of justice and beneficence
SECTION III: Of the influence of fortune upon the sentiments of mankind, with regard to the merit or demerit of actions
PART III: of the foundation of our judgments concerning our own sentiments and conduct, and of the sense of duty
PART IV: of the effect of utility upon the sentiment of approbation consisting of one section
PART V: of the influence of custom and fashion upon the sentiments of moral approbation and disapprobation consisting of one section
PART VI: of the character of virtue consisting of three sections
SECTION I: Of the character of the individual, so far as it affects his own happiness; or of prudence
SECTION II: Of the character of the individual, so far as it can affect the happiness of other people
SECTION III: Of self-command
PART VII: of systems of moral philosophy: consisting of four sections
SECTION I: Of the questions which ought to be examined in a theory of moral sentiments
SECTION II: Of the different accounts which have been given of the nature of virtue
SECTION III: Of the different systems which have been formed concerning the principle of approbation
SECTION IV: Of the manner in which different authors have treated of the practical rules of morality
Endnotes Show More