The Theory of Moral Sentiments

“And Smith in the theory of moral sentiments when he wrote that meant us by loved, he didn't mean just romantic love.”

“that was you know I can give you the exact quotes from Smith but that's his argument very very clearly made in one part of the wealth of nations well that's a very powerful uh statements in the theory of moral sentiments about the dignity of of so-called he sometimes calls them savages I think you point out in your”

“So when you mentioned his earlier book that's the theory of moral sentiments where he says man naturally desires not only to be loved but to be lovely and by using that language he means honored respected praised worth and lovely meaning worthy of honor worthy of respect worthy of praise.”

“So, some of that's in Smith in his first book, Theory of Moral Sentiments, because I think when we're loved and lovely, we have a decent life. I think Smith was very right about that.”

“You know, uh, before we recorded this, Leon and I talked a little bit about Adam Smith and, uh, Adam Smith talks about our pursuit of, um, gadgets in 1759 in the theory of moral sentiments.”

“I should also mention uh the crazy six-part bonus episodes I did with Dan Klein on Adam Smith's book, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, which I almost certainly I have read without Dan's eagerness to discuss it on EconTalk, and of course that inspired inspired me to write my own book, How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life.”

“and I'll just throw little Adam Smith here in the theory of moral sentiments he talks a lot about how much we worship great political leaders”

“yes about his book The Theory of world sentiments which you I believe underrate badly Tyler”

“in fact I I view the his Masterpiece the theory of moral sentiments to be why we asking the question why we ever do anything for other people given that our overwhelming natural impulse is self-love”

“it is the theory of moral sentiments, or an essay towards an analysis of the principles by which men naturally judge considering the conduct and character first of their neighbors and afterwards of themselves.”

“I can't help but think of Adam Smith's uh line in the theory of moral sentiments where he says man naturally desires not only to be loved but to be lovely”

“it's Adam Smith's mana's system in the theory of moral sentiments”

“Yes. So, um Adam Smith writes his first book which I'm going to quote from in a minute called The Theory of Moral Sentiments in first edition 1759. Then he publishes his uh grand opus, his most famous book, uh The Wealth of Nations in 1776.”

“I'm now going to read uh from the Theory of Moral Sentiments by Adam Smith. Um I did not tell you I was going to do this beforehand so it may um I don't know how you'll react to it but it's one of my favorite passages uh for lots of of different reasons.”

“Adam Smith's forgotten Masterpiece the ethereum oral sentiments”

“and it's consistent with what uh Adam Smith says in uh his theory of moral sentiments he says when you have a really horrible trip”

“this book by adam smith not the wealth of nations called the theory of moral sentiments which has also was an eye opener for me”

“actually the theory of moral sentiments is a is really a masterpiece on on this question”

“but a variant on that uh smith uh said in in the theory of moral sentiments quote if the chief part of human happiness arises from the consciousness of being beloved as i believe it does those sudden changes of fortune seldom contribute much to happiness”

“And my joke is that in today's times I wish I were I try to sometimes immerse myself in Adam Smith's Theory of Moral Sentiments of 1759.”

“Yeah, Adam Smith in the Theory of Moral Sentiments says that uh I'd like you to like what I like. So, if I tell you this is a really great movie and you go see it, I'm going to feel good if you if you like it and I'll be disappointed if you don't like it.”

“we talk about a lot on the program in terms of Adam Smith's you know Theory of Moral Sentiments”

“now I should probably know Adam Smith in the Theory of Moral Sentiments gives a not unrelated example of how we might feel after an earthquake that killed hundreds”

“it's all in the Theory of Moral Sentiments by Adam Smith by the way is my listeners know all too well yes it is”

“included in those nine previous experiences is a six-part conversation we had about Adam Smith's masterpiece the Theory of Moral Sentiments which taught me a great deal about that book and about Adam Smith”

“and in that sense it's very much in the spirit of Adam Smith's Theory of Moral Sentiments”

“welcome back to the econ talk book club on the Theory of Moral Sentiments with our guide Dan Klein dan thanks again for joining us”

“the theory of moral sentiments was his big moral philosophy book here's what he wrote how selfish soever man may be supposed there are evidently some principles in his nature which interest him in the fortune of others and render their happiness necessary to him though he derives nothing from it except the pleasure of seeing it”

“after she had passed away the some of the passages might be interpreted as reducing the religious context while he was able to make meaningful revisions to theory of moral sentiments and Wealth of Nations during his time at panmure”

“he worried about the ways that wealth and an emphasis on material Goods can corrupt people's moral sentiments the theory of moral sentiments The Wealth of Nations those were the books”

“in 1759 Adam Smith published his first book the theory of moral sentiments he was in his mid-30s and he'd spent the previous several years teaching moral philosophy at the University of Glasgow”

“and maybe you have read some of Smith's first book the theory of moral sentiments but probably not I thought well I don't have to read this because it's not economics it's philosophy or psychology you could call it and I didn't read it forever most economists don't that first book the one no one reads”

“what counts as virtue and these are the questions that anime Smith's first book the theory of moral sentiments what is it like when we see somebody in pain how do we feel when we tell a joke and somebody doesn't laugh that is actually an example in the book and he uses all of these experiences to show how”

“on page 136 of the Liberty Fund edition of theory of moral sentiments, and I should say I first encountered this in your marvelous six-part discussion with Dan Klein a long time ago, now I think it was 2009.”

“this is uh Smith page 138 in three of moral sentiments when the happiness or misery of others indeed in no respect depends upon our conduct when our interests are all together separated and detached from there so that there is neither connection nor competition, we do not always think it's so necessary to restrain our natural and perhaps improper”

“So Adam Smith, when he was writing Theory of Moral Sentiments, was trying to create that's I agree with Dan Klein. That's his most libertarian book.”

“every year we spend three weeks at the beach on vacation and one of the highlights of that is me re-listening to you and dan klein talk about in six episodes and talking about the theory of moral sentiments”

“Adam Smith wrote this book called the theory of moral sentiments before he wrote ”

“Adam Smith before he wrote a Wealth of Nations he wrote this philosophy book he was S taught by by a professor who's big fan of this toes and it's called a theory of moral sentiments”

“Adam Smith once said that we think of him as this ruthless practitioner or philosopher of capitalism, but he also wrote a book called 'Theory of Moral Sentiments' about how we should be good people.”

“...when I read um uh your book on Adam Smith, and then when I read Theory of Moral Sentiments, in a way I'm almost like groaning before I finish the book...”

“well the theory of moral sentiments yeah but in the theory of moral sentiment Smith wrote about this”

“Well, the Theory of Moral Sentiments...”

“let me read a little chunk this is a very very famous piece of theory moral sentiments”

“You're referring to the Adam Smith of The Wealth of Nations but there's also the Adam Smith of the theory of moral sentiments and I think that the distinction between the two is that in the theory of moral sentiments Smith is lying at a moral theory”

“You're referring to the Adam Smith of The Wealth of Nations, but there's also the Adam Smith of The Theory of Moral Sentiments.”

“You're referring to the Adam Smith of The Wealth of Nations but there's also the Adam Smith of the theory of moral sentiments”

“which is more apparent in The Wealth of Nations it's in the theory of moral sentiments but it's understood a richer context in the theory of moral sentiments”

“I mean I happen to think that of the Two Boots the theory of moral sentiments is the more interesting the Richer in many ways the more Innovative of the two books”

“it's like have you read um a theory of moral sentiments yeah it's so hard for me cu the stoicism comes in and out”

“it's like have you read um a theory of moral sentiments”

“she didn't read the first book the theory of moral sentiments clearly but she read the second one”

“The Wealth of Nations is the most famous book but for me as was said earlier it's the theory of moral sentiments which is the guide”

“adam smith's theory of moral sentiments as a book over or underrated”

“theory is more sentiments”

“i think it's towards the end of theory of moral sentiments”

“it was in this 17th century building that Smith completed the final editions of the two Masterworks the theory of moral sentiments and of course The Wealth of Nations”

“The Wealth of Nations it doesn't say ethereal moral sentiments but the theory of moral sentiments tells you so much more about Smith than what The Wealth of Nations does”

“the first volume is Moral Sentiments”

“in The Wealth of Nations he talked about um the Invisible Hand which governs the market but then he also talked about theory of moral sentiments which was the the Realms where the market didn't go”

“so seem to me in tms in the theory of moral sentiments smith is trying to bring several of these pieces together you know principle-based self-government government if you like and also a an endowment a natural endowment for compassion and sympathy”

“and the Scottish Enlightenment which after all produced some of the greatest ideas human beings have ever had think of Adam Smith's contribution The Wealth of Nations the theory of moral sentiments that's the kind of intellectual Legacy that I think of myself as being responsible for”

“The other half was in this book called the theory of moral sentiments in which he explains how self-interest overlaps with virtue.”

“oh, what's the moral the the Theory of Moral Sentiments.”

“You're referring to the Adam Smith of The Wealth of Nations, but there's also the Adam Smith of The Theory of Moral Sentiments.”

“One of the books that I um I realized you'd read at that time from some research is this book Adam Smith the theory of moral sentiments.”

“and maybe i should just read the theory of moral sentiments”

“Adam Smith's first book was actually about ethics”

“because when Adam Smith said that we all want to be praised and we all want to be praise worthy I think it was in a theory of moral sentiments”

“She didn't read the first book, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, clearly, but she read the second one and did use that as an authority to promote her economic theories and activities and policies.”

“It's in The Theory of Moral Sentiments, but it's understood in a richer context in The Theory of Moral Sentiments.”

“Some people have suggested that, and they've said that if you look at some of the changes made to the very final edition of The Theory of Moral Sentiments after she had passed away, some of the passages might be interpreted as reducing the religious context.”

“While he was able to make meaningful revisions to The Theory of Moral Sentiments and The Wealth of Nations during his time at Panmure, he was also, unfortunately, really busy with his day job.”

“I know The Wealth of Nations is the most famous book, but for me, as mentioned earlier, it's the Theory of Moral Sentiments that serves as the true guide.”

“Maybe you have read some of Smith's first book, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, but probably not.”

“And these are the questions that animate Smith's first book, The Theory of Moral Sentiments.”

“It doesn't say The Theory of Moral Sentiments, but The Theory of Moral Sentiments tells you so much more about Smith than what The Wealth of Nations does.”

“I think my understanding of Smith has moved on; that would have been the book which people would have recognized, but for Smith, of course, there's no question about it, The Theory of Moral Sentiments is an extremely important book.”

“You see the humanity and understanding of people from The Theory of Moral Sentiments even more so than from The Wealth of Nations.”

“Coming up, we hear from one Smith scholar who agrees that The Theory of Moral Sentiments is the more interesting, richer, and in many ways, the more innovative of the two books.”

“There were just the two books: The Theory of Moral Sentiments and The Wealth of Nations, with multiple editions of each since he was an inveterate reviser.”

“If you read both of Adam Smith's major works, The Theory of Moral Sentiments and The Wealth of Nations, you might conclude that there is not just one Adam Smith but two.”

“Glory Liu discusses this theory, which posits that Smith changed his mind or had a change of heart between writing The Theory of Moral Sentiments in 1759 and The Wealth of Nations in 1776.”

“The concepts of sympathy in The Theory of Moral Sentiments and self-interest in The Wealth of Nations are perfectly compatible.”

“I think the real Adam Smith Problem is that most economists and politicians who refer to The Wealth of Nations for guidance have simply not read The Theory of Moral Sentiments.”

“There’s one passage from The Theory of Moral Sentiments that Roberts emphasizes heavily in his book.”

“If you're going to read just one paragraph from this work, this might be the one: Man naturally desires not only to be loved but also to be lovely or to be the proper object of love; He naturally dreads not only to be hated but also to be hateful or to be the proper object of hatred; He desires”

“After reading The Theory of Moral Sentiments and pondering its content, did your economist colleagues think you had softened?”

“Thus, I want to know how the act of reading The Theory of Moral Sentiments affected you.”

“Yet, reading The Theory of Moral Sentiments made me realize that many other influences affect us.”

“Throughout these recent episodes, we have likewise been reevaluating Adam Smith, hoping that it too will yield benefits.”