New Essays on Adam Smith's Moral Philosophy, Edited by Wade L. Robison & David B. Suits

Adam Smith (1723 - 1790) was a Scottish philosopher who, with his good friend David Hume, can be ranked as the most famous of the 18th century Scottish Enlightenment philosophers.   

A key idea of Smiths moral philosophy was the notion of sympathy (or what we today would call empathy), which allows us to understand another's point of view our fellow-feeling with any passion whatever when we imaginatively put ourselves into the shoes of another.

The essays in this volume give us a better understanding of the complexities and subtleties of Smith’s thought about matters of morality and about his relations with his friend David Hume, from whom he drew much of his moral theory.

The essays discuss the historical context of Smiths life in 18th century Scotland; investigate the Adam Smith Problem concerning the issue of consistency or lack of consistency between The Theory of Moral Sentiments and The Wealth of Nations; elaborate on the moral issues in commercial society and the role of resentment (one of the unsocial passions) in Smith’s account of morality; and discuss how Hume’s death may have affected Smith’s philosophy.