...Textual Analysis of the Adam Smith Problem Sympathy and self-interest, when examined superficially, seem like conflicting notions. For this reason, Adam Smith is often criticized for writing two philosophical books – one about the human nature to exhibit sympathy, and one about the market’s reliance on our self-interest – that contradict each other. Through careful examination of Smith’s explanations, however, these two apparently separate forces that drive human behavior become not only interwoven, but symbiotic. In his first work, Theory of Moral Sentiments, Smith seems to argue that sympathy is the guiding force that produces most human behavior. He writes that it is human nature to be concerned with both the wellbeing and misfortunes of others, and that this concern for others is felt so deeply in us that we modify all our behavior in order to act in its accordance. Because we feel the pain and happiness of the others, we generally act in such a way as to extend the happiness and minimize the pain of those around us – especially those closest to our hearts, like loved ones and heroes. With this in mind, sympathy looks like a very altruistic principle, quite void of any self-interest at all. This view of sympathy, however, is not the view that Smith sustains throughout Theory of Moral Sentiments. In fact, as Smith continues to dissect the causes and effects of our sympathetic nature, it begins to look more and more as if sympathy is based in concern for oneself. This...
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...Literature (Classic and Modern), Book Report/Review Date: Topic: The Theory of Moral Sentiments: Reflections on “Of Sympathy.” I. Introduction of the subject, scope, and type of book The book, “The Theory of Moral Sentiments” by Adam Smith was published in the year 1759.The genre of the book is Human Nature and Morality. It is a book by an intellectual, trying to understand what the borders of spirituality are, but unable to reach it. Spirituality is all about experiencing and it transcending mind-level reasoning. The book, however, from the secular point of view, is the foundation stone for the later works of Adam Smith on the subjects of ethics, philosophy, psychology, politics, justice, economics, arms and methodological underpinnings. II. Summary of the content of the chosen part: Reflections on “Of Sympathy.” In “The Theory of Moral Sentiments” (1759), “Adam Smith defines sympathy as the effect that is produced when we imagine that another person’s circumstances are our own circumstances, and find their reaction to the circumstances to be reasonable.”(Yupangco) However, the similar feelings we experience in our inner world is with less intensity. Because we are not the direct party for that experience and as such we do not share the events that created the response in the concerned individual. It is a sort of ‘fellow feeling’ according to Smith. Sympathy is the spontaneous passion exhibited by humankind. III. My findings from the...
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...Adam Smith and The Lego Movie Midterm Paper In the Warner Brother’s production, The Lego Movie, many of the characters, scenes, themes, and movie lines illustrate the ideas of the economist, Adam Smith. Smith expresses his ideas through two of his books, The Wealth of Nations and The Theory of Moral Sentiments. In The Wealth of Nations, Smith explains “what it means to be ‘wealthy’ in a commercial society,” and in The Theory of Moral Sentiments, Smith explains “how deeply flawed humans learn to be civil, cooperative, happy, and free” (Garnett). In these two books, Smith writes about not only what he thinks is most beneficial for a growing economy, but also about what is most detrimental. The Lego Movie illustrates both of Smith’s views of the economy through the components and make-up of the movie. One Smithian idea appears in the lines of The Lego Movie’s theme song, “Everything is Awesome.” The lyrics are as follows: “We’re all working in harmony. Everything is awesome. Everything is cool when you’re a part of a team.” Smith’s example of the woolen coat from The Wealth of Nations is represented through these song lyrics. “The woollen coat… is the produce of the joint labour of a great multitude of workmen” (WNS). This definition from Smith’s work states that the “woolen coat,” which symbolizes wealth, is created through the cooperation and harmony of workmen who all hold different jobs and have different specialties (Garnett). The ‘woolen coat,’ and furthermore, the division...
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...Economic theories Insert your name Course Professor’s name Date due “The Real and Nominal Price of Commodities, or of Their Price in Labor, and Their Price in Money” is the fifth chapter of a book called “Weath of Nations”. This book was written in 1723-1790 by Adam Smith. According to this writer, every man is poor or rich to some extent that he can afford to enjoy the conveniences, necessaries, and life amusements. However, after the division of labor, it becomes a small part of these with which man owns labor can fully satisfy him. This is to mean that, the greater part of them must be derived from other people’s labor, and that the man must be poor or rich according to the quantity of labor that he can afford to buy or secure. This chapter argues that the commodity value, to the person who possesses it, or who means not to consume or use himself, but switch it with other commodities, is just equal to the amount of labor which enables him to command or purchase. This is to signify that labor is the only trusted measure of the exchange value of all commodities. (Smith, 1977) According to Adam Smith, the real price of everything is the trouble and toil of acquiring it. Whatever everything is worth to the person who has acquired it, is the trouble and toil which it can save him, and which it can impose on other people. Adam notes that, whatever can be bought with money can as well be bought by labor, as much as it was acquired by the toil of one’s body...
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...“Adam Smith Meets Climate Change How the theory of moral sentiments could be applied to cap-and-trade greenhouse-gas emissions.” By Ian Ayres and Doug Kysar Slate, Posted Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008, at 11:53 AM ET Despite all the attention to domestic oil drilling, Obama and McCain are not that far apart on climate change—both candidates support a cap-and-trade system to limit U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions. And neither candidate has told us much about how they will get the rest of the world on the cap-and-trade bandwagon. That challenge deserves more focus—unless we can entice fast-growing emitters like China, India, and Brazil ! into a climate change treaty as full participants, even complete energ y independence in this country will be little consolation in a warming world. We think Adam Smith may have had a suggestion for how to think about this problem—and it's more than just an invisible hand. For 30 years now, officials have been groping toward a system in which greenhouse-gas emitters all around the world can trade permits. GHG reductions achieve the same global atmospheric benefit regardless of where they occur, but because industries and firms have different costs of reduction, it makes economic sense to allow them to trade permits. That way we can lower emissions for less money. But a crucial sticking point is figuring out how to initially allocate emissions permits among the various countries of the world. [PROPOSAL ONE:] Generally speaking, richer nations...
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...Wealth of Nations and The Incredibly Condensed Theory of Moral Sentiments Eamonn Butler www.adamsmith.org The Condensed Wealth of Nations and The Incredibly Condensed Theory of Moral Sentiments Eamonn Butler The Adam Smith Institute has an open access policy. Copyright remains with the copyright holder, but users may download, save and distribute this work in any format provided: (1) that the Adam Smith Institute is cited; (2) that the web address adamsmith. org is published together with a prominent copy of this notice; (3) the text is used in full without amendment [extracts may be used for criticism or review]; (4) the work is not re–sold; (5) the link for any online use is sent to info@adamsmith.org. The views expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect any views held by the publisher or copyright owner. They are published as a contribution to public debate. © Adam Smith Research Trust 2011 Published in the UK by ASI (Research) Ltd. ISBN: 1–902737–77–6 Some rights reserved Printed in England Contents 1 Introduction 2 The Condensed Wealth of Nations Book I: Economic efficiency and the factors of production Book II: The accumulation of capital Book III: The progress of economic growth Book IV: Economic theory and policy Book V: The role of government 3 The Incredibly Condensed Theory of Moral Sentiments 4 Further reading 9 32 42 47 59 77 84 4 7 1 Introduction Adam Smith’s pioneering book on economics, The Wealth...
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...ANALYTICAL ESSAY 1: How Adam Smith Has Shaped Our Economy For The Better Jose Arguello University of Redlands July 25, 2013 Introduction The purpose of this paper is to analyze and discuss how Adam Smith’s economic theories have shaped our economy for the better. This paper will define Adam Smith’s major economic theories and relate them to today’s economy. This paper will conclude with recommendations on how some of these theories can be improved. Discussion When people think of Adam Smith they think of Adam Smith “the economist.” In fact, many don’t realize that Adam Smith was a philosopher at heart. From that critical thinking space as a philosopher, Adam Smith developed his economic theories. Adam Smith obtained a professorship at Glasgow teaching moral philosophy. “Here, Smith developed his passion for liberty, reason, and free speech. In 1740 Smith was awarded the Snell exhibition and left to attend Balliol College, Oxford.” (Buchanan, 2006) These are important facts about Adam Smith because it gives us an insight to his philosophy and eventually into his economic theories. Furthermore, before Adam Smith wrote his well-known work, The Wealth of Nations, he wrote The Theory of Moral Sentiments. It is important to note that in writing The Theory of Moral Sentiment, Adam Smith’s goal “was to explain the source of mankind's ability to form moral judgments, in spite of man's natural inclinations towards self-interest. Smith proposes a theory of sympathy, in...
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...During the 18th century, when Adam Smith lived, the most important social, moral, and technological presumptions had matured. These assumptions have helped to shape the market system as the publicly accepted and entrenched economic lifestyle, and the basis for cultural and even ethical relationships. The presumptions were market intensification and the spread of money operations, as well as the need for accounting and technical production, not the seizure of new lands or colonial conquest, as it used to be, but the accumulation of wealth became the source of vitality for many nations. At the same times, the type for economic man, the one who is absorbed with resource realization, was formed. The history led Smith to become one of the most authoritative of there new global manifestation of life and theoretical trends approvers. He wrote to works called The Moral Sentiments and The Wealth of Nations (Ross) In these works he analyzed two the most important social and individual areas of life, spiritual and materialistic, he tried to philosophically justify the already mentioned era changes as the ones that are best fitting humanity, the spiritual being of nations and ensuring the material well-being. The book called The Wealth of Nations earned the title of the “father of economics” title for Adam Smith (Say). The goal of this paper is to review and analyze the economical achievements of Adam Smith for world history and the world today. Smith was born on June 5th, 1723 in Kirkcaldy...
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...Philosophies of Ethics Adam Smith’s Theory Adam Smith developed a comprehensive version of moral sentimentalism in his Theory of Moral Sentiments. Smith claims that every man, by nature, always takes care of himself more than of any other person and concerns himself more than any other man. This individual freedom is rooted in self-reliance, the ability of an individual to pursue his self-interest. Yet Smith explains that as social creatures we are endowed with a natural sympathy (pity, compassion) towards others. When we see others distressed or happy, we feel for them and, likewise, others seek our sympathy and feel for us. As we grow from childhood to adulthood, through experience we gradually build up a system of behavioral rules (standards) – morality. So it stems from our social nature. Smith believes that for society to survive there must be rules to present its individual members not to harm each other which they have to obey and these rules are called justice. Also if people go further than obey the rules and do good (beneficence) we welcome it, but cannot demand such actions as we demand justice. Smith ends The Theory of Moral Sentiments by stating that a truly virtuous person is willing to sacrifice all his inferior interests to the greater interest of the universe, great society. By doing that such a person, he suggests, would embody the qualities of justice, beneficence and self-command. Hume’s Moral Philosophy According to Hume, our intentional actions...
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...Introduction Known as one of the founding fathers of economics, Adam Smith is one of the most influential writers of his time. His works seem to be able to transcend time and cultures to the extent that his books are still in circulation today and are heavily debated. From his first famous work “Theory of Moral Sentiments” to “An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations” Adam Smith showed that he was a leading mind in the field of political economy and for that matter human nature. He is able to explain a variety of economic influences based on his overlying concept of rational self-interest in a free-market economy. But just like any other great mind revered in history they all have to start somewhere, and his was in Scotland. Adam Smith was born and raised in Scotland in the year 1723. At the age of 14 years old he was admitted into the University of Glasgow on a scholarship. He studied moral philosophy there until he switched colleges and then attended Balliol College at Oxford. He graduated with an extensive knowledge of European literature and moral philosophy. Preceding his graduation from Oxford University he returned to his home country to give a series of lectures that contributed to him being elected as the first chair of logic in 1751 and subsequently the chair of moral philosophy in 1752 at Glasgow University. A few years later Adam Smith published “Theory of Moral Sentiments” which was well received by the general public and eventually allowed...
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...history, economists have debated over various theories, in an effort to discover the one solution that will achieve the most efficient and beneficial economy. One school of thought titled, Classical Economics, is infamous has been called the “first modern school of economic thought.”[1] Two economist/philosophers who have been placed within this Classical category are Adam Smith and Karl Marx. Though these two men are polar opposites in the political-economic spectrum they share some similarities; and although dated, there are points of value to both Adam Smith’s and Karl Marx’s theories. Adam Smith, the father of economics as a science, combined economics with moral theory in regards to the way societies ought to live. Today’s capitalist economic systems have been shaped by Smith’s explanations of market factors and the role of the state, or lack thereof, in economics. Karl Marx, a fundamental revolutionary, is one of the original minds behind communism. He is renowned as a radical political philosopher. These men have together been placed in the school of classical economics, signaling that there are similarities in their ideology. Politically, however, these men differ greatly. This essay intends to study some of their most poignant theories to compare fundamental differences. Karl Marx became famous for his revolutionary ideas and as one of the originators of communist theories. He is renowned for his book on economic theory, Das Kapital. As members of the Communist League...
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...explain why you put him/her on your list. In the history of economics, I believe the three most important economists are Adam Smith, Karl Marx, and John Maynard Keynes. After learning about so many different influences of economics, it is difficult to choose only three however the three that I chose seem to have the biggest impact. They all had different theories and ideas of economic thinking. Some ideas were developed off of the predecessors principles, while other beliefs were opposing the ideas completely. Overall, it is important to study and learn from their methods to help understand how an economy works and how to attain their goals. The first economists I found the most important to the history of economics was Adam Smith. Adam Smith was not only a founder of the classical school but he had many influential ideas of moral values and political economy. The two books he wrote that were very important to economic thinking were The Theory of Moral Sentiments and Wealth of Nations. They complimented it each and demonstrate his way of thinking. Smith believed in a free market and that this idea is best for society. He developed the idea of the “invisible hand”, meaning if people went after their own self-interests that it would also benefit society. The division of labor was another idea that Smith was noted on discovering. Smith also disliked government connection in the economy. From these major ideas, he is commonly known as the father of capitalism. ...
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...Adam Smith was born to Margaret Douglas in Scotland during the year 1723. Interestingly enough, his father was also named Adam Smith, but died two months before the birth of his son. His father’s occupation was as a lawyer. A strange fact about Adam Smith is that his exact date of birth was never recorded. It is known, however, that Smith was baptized on the 5th of June 1723 (Buchan, 2006). Very few happenings of Adam Smith’s childhood have been documented, but a biographer of Smith’s noted one story. It was written that when Adam Smith was only four years old gypsies abducted him (Rae, 1895). Thankfully, Smith was safely returned to his family where he was allowed to grow into a great philosopher and economist. Growing up, Smith was very close to his mother and was encouraged to follow scholarly aspirations. In Scotland, he attended one of the nicest secondary schools before entering the University of Glasgow at age 14. While at Glasgow Smith studied moral philosophy and developed his thinking in a way that resulted in his reasoning later in life. He later moved on to study political science at Balliol College, Oxford. Smith actually believed that the teaching at Glasgow was superior to that at Oxford, because Oxford was found to be intellectually stifling (Bussing-Burks, 2003). Smith left Oxford to return home and eventually he wound up giving lectures at Edinburgh in Scotland. Once established back in his native Scotland, Smith earned a spot at Glasgow University as a professor...
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...Danny Whitford Francis Bacon, an English scientific philosopher of the late 16th and early 17th centuries, is best known for his advocacy of the scientific method during the scientific revolution. Also known as the Baconian Method, his scientific method revolves around inductive reasoning through which a series of conclusions can be made. He is known as the “Father of the Scientific Method” and the “Father of Experimental Science”. One of Bacon's most famous works is his History of Life and Death, in which he explains his observations and experimental conclusions about the prolongation of life by use of natural medicines and practices. His experimental approach to science with the use of inductive reasoning and trust of his senses was very influential in the Enlightenment during the 18th century. Bacon's scientific method formed the basis for modern science, and nearly all major scientific conclusions today rely on the inductive reasoning through observations of the senses that Bacon advocated. Nicolas Malebranche (Mal-brahnch), a French rationalist philosopher of the 17th and early 18th centuries, focused on rationalizing God's existence by means of the natural world rather than purely on faith and spirituality. His works, comparable to those of St. Augustine and René Descartes (Day-cart), attempt to show the active role of God in all aspects of the world and of human nature itself. Malebranche (Mal-brahnch) asserted that all human reasoning, thought, and cognitive...
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...Adam Smith And The Invisible Hand In the 18th century Adam Smith came up with a concept called the invisible hand theory. This concept shaped the way we use the free market today. What the invisible hand theory consist of is the fact that people in general are looking out for their own personal self-interest and that alone will create a higher demand for goods and services. This concept will generate profit and resources will be made available throughout the economy. It creates a profit motivation of individuals that drive an economy. With the book; The Wealth of Nations Adam Smith installed himself as the leading expositor of economic thought. Adam Smith was born in Kirkcaldy, Scotland. His widowed mother raised him. When he was fourteen he entered the University of Glasgow on scholarship. During this time period this was usual practice. After that he attended Balliol College at Oxford. He graduated with knowledge of European literature and ongoing contemnor for English schools. When he returned home he delivered a series of well received lectures. He left the academy in 1764 to be a tutor for young dukes of Buccleuch. This is where he began to travel for more than two years throughout France and into Switzerland. They describe it as an experience that brought Smith into contact with his contemporaries Voltaire. Since he received a life pension from the service of the duke he retired to his homeland and that’s when The Wealth of Nations was written. The same year the American...
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