The intro to Eugene Heath’s chapter: Is there any reason to devote time or effort to reading (or writing) an additional essay on Adam Smith’s “invisible hand”? Given the plethora of papers (as well as chapters, comments, and asides) dedicated to uncovering, interpreting, explaining, or contextualizing this notable expression, one could be pardoned for responding…
The intro to Gloria Zúñiga y Postigo’s essay Is the assumption of self-interested behavior assumed in economics at odds with altruism and compassion? I believe that this question—which has been formulated in various ways in the literature for the past two centuries—is the thorn that often turns us away from reconciling the Adam Smith of the…
Here is the Twitter interview conducted earlier. Adam Smithadam smith problemEconomicsmoral philosophyPropriety and Prosperity: New Studies on the Philosophy of Adam SmithTheory of Moral SentimentsWealth of Nations
Here is the intro to Roger Frantz’ chapter. ~~~~~~~ Adam Smith (1723-1790) was a polymath with several of his key concepts and theories either having modern counterparts and/or “enjoying” empirical support. Smith wrote about the origin and proper use of language, grammar, the history of astronomy and ancient physics, moral philosophy, music, dance, and poetry,…
The intro to Laurent Dobuzinskis’ chapter: As is well known, Adam Smith spent about two years in Europe, most of it in France. It was in fact during his stay in Toulouse that he began to work on what became The Wealth of Nations (WN); but what proved decisive for the deepening of his understanding…
Below is the intro to Gordon Graham’s chapter. Was Adam Smith a Scottish philosopher? The question seems an odd one. He was a philosopher and he was Scottish. What more could we need to know, in order to arrive at the simple answer ‘yes.’ And in any case, why does it matter? On reflection, however, neither…
Check out this collection — a “whose who” lineup with an amazing scope. Adam Smithadam smith problemdivision of labourTheory of Moral SentimentsWealth of Nations
Adam Smithadam smith problemEconomic theoryEconomicsEconomics and PhilosophyEconomics HistoryHistory of Economic Thoughtmirror neuronsphilosophy of social sciencepropriety and prosperityTheory of Moral SentimentsWealth of Nations
Russ Roberts’ latest getting some high-profile press, and endorsed by some top-notch names including the redoubtable Nassim Taleb. Here is an extended interview with Reason. On this general approach to Smith see this forthcoming collection. Adam Smith, didn’t think the pursuit of wealth was a very good idea, thought it was corrosive, thought it was bad…
Galleys have now been generated for this collection. Here is the finalized table of contents. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ List of Figures Foreword by Vernon L. Smith Acknowledgements List of Contributors List of Abbreviations 1: Introduction: Epistemology not Ideology: David F. Hardwick and Leslie Marsh Part I: Context 2: Adam Smith as a Scottish Philosopher: Gordon Graham 3: Friendship in…
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