The role of teleology in Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations

Kleer, Richard A.

doi:10.1080/10370196.2000.11733331

Cited by 21 publications

(15 citation statements)

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“…Many of the other apparent conflicts in Smith's corpus have been analyzed and (in many cases) resolved in the outpouring of scholarly work on Smith in the past several decades. To take just a few examples, a multitude of scholars have focused on the seeming divergence between Smith's famous account of the benefits of the division of labor with regard to productivity in Book I of The Wealth of Nations and his equally famous castigation of the debilitating effects of the division of labor on people's characters in Book V (e.g., Rosenberg 1965Rosenberg , 1995West 1996), between his frequent invocations of God and other "teleological" statements and his apparent secularism and empiricism (e.g., Kleer 1995Kleer , 2000Minowitz 1993), and between his emphasis on self-interest in The Wealth of Nations and his emphasis on sympathy in The Theory of Moral Sentiments--the key issue in the notorious "Adam Smith Problem" (e.g., Montes 2004;Otteson 2002). The apparent conflict between Smith's view of happiness as tranquility and his defense of commercial society has, however, received far less attention.…”

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confidence: 99%

Does “Bettering Our Condition” Really Make Us Better Off? Adam Smith on Progress and Happiness

Rasmussen

2006

Am Polit Sci Rev

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Adam Smith is almost certainly history's most famous advocate of commercial society, but he frankly admits that the relentless pursuit of wealth is a major obstacle to tranquility and contentment and hence that, at first glance, the higher living standards that people “enjoy” in commercial society seem to come only at the cost of their happiness. I argue that the solution to this apparent paradox can be found in Smith's account of the positive political effects of commerce: dependence and insecurity are the chief obstacles to happiness and have been the hallmarks of most of human history, and so the alleviation of these ills in commercial society constitutes a great step forward. Money really cannot buy happiness, but the liberty and security that commercial societies tend to provide help to assuage the greatest sources of misery.

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confidence: 99%

Does “Bettering Our Condition” Really Make Us Better Off? Adam Smith on Progress and Happiness

Rasmussen

2006

Am Polit Sci Rev

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“…An increase the number of books and articles has been written about it in recent decades confirms this fact (e.g. Alvey, 1994Alvey, , 1996Alvey, , 1997Alvey, , 1998aAlvey, , 1998bAlvey, , 2001Alvey, , 2003aAlvey, , 2003bClarke, 2000Clarke, , 2002Fitzgibbons, 1995;Fitzgibbons, 1995;Fleischacker, 1991Fleischacker, , 1996Fleischacker, , 2004Haakonssen, 1981;Hill, 2001;Kleer, 2000;Lux, 1990;Rothschild, 2001;Skinner, 1996;Werhane, 2006;Winch, 1996).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 65%

“…It isn't famous like Wealth of Nations, but proper understanding of Smith's Wealth of Nations requires a prior understanding of the Theory Moral Sentiments. Review of the lectures at the University of Glasgow of Francis Hutcheson (see Ross, 1995, p. 53), the teacher of Adam Smith and more exact study of two above books (see Kleer, 2000) shows that economics hasn't separated from ethics until (and in) smith's time.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethonomics & the History of Economic Thought

Samimi¹,

Chehreghani²

2011

JSDS

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The purpose of this paper is to survey the relationship between economics and ethics in the history of economic thought. So the descriptive methodology of research is applied to find study and analyze the references which have been written about the matter. The conclusion shows that economics not only hasnâ€™t been detached from ethics, but also has been the subdirectory of ethics in the beginning. In the other word economics grew out of moral philosophy and eventually became one of the moral sciences but these two sciences detached from each other as times go on, and this detachment is not part of the tradition of economics.

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“…That many scholars fail to appreciate the true nature of Smith's predicament is disappointing (Leslie [1870] 1879; Kleer 1995Kleer , 2000Hill 2002;Macfie 1967;Campbell 1971;Davis 1990;cf. That many scholars fail to appreciate the true nature of Smith's predicament is disappointing (Leslie [1870] 1879; Kleer 1995Kleer , 2000Hill 2002;Macfie 1967;Campbell 1971;Davis 1990;cf.…”

Section: James Huttonmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Hidden Adam Smith in His Alleged Theology

Kennedy¹

2011

J Hist Econ Thought

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The paper examines assertions that Adam Smith was in some sense a Christian, and examines how much current opinion ignores his biography and the dangerous religious context of eighteenth-century Scotland. Zealots regularly intervened against suspected heresy, which created an atmosphere of intimidation. Adam Smith's biography shows that he too was intimidated, and avoided scandals that would upset his very religious mother, for whom he felt a special protective bond, and that he hid his private skepticism to ensure that nothing he published would provoke the zealots. A close reading of his Works shows how he amended them consistently as he grew older to modify their religious content, particularly after his mother died in 1784, and up to just before he died in 1790.

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The role of teleology in Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations

Cited by 21 publications

References 20 publications

Does “Bettering Our Condition” Really Make Us Better Off? Adam Smith on Progress and Happiness

Does “Bettering Our Condition” Really Make Us Better Off? Adam Smith on Progress and Happiness

Ethonomics & the History of Economic Thought

The Hidden Adam Smith in His Alleged Theology

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