The Theory of Moral Sentiments

Invoked today as the father of economic liberalism, Adam Smith derives political order, social conformity, economic progress, and moral behavior from the network of sympathetic relationships binding individuals to one another. Drawing on the work of Frances Hutcheson and David Hume, Smith makes an original contribution to the empiricist tradition within ethics by elaborating notions of imaginative sympathy and the impartial spectator. In addition to the merit of its arguments, The Theory of Moral Sentiments is a fascinating window on eighteenth-century Scottish thought and society, and it invites the reader to reflect upon his or her own feelings and conduct towards others.

Adam Smith (1723-1790) is one of the most influential economic philosophers in history, and his theories remain a touchstone for modern capitalist societies.

Amartya Sen 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 now teaches at Harvard.

Ryan Patrick Hanley is an assistant professor of political science at Marquette University and the author of Adam Smith and the Character of Virtue.