Adam Smith

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. So begins The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) the first major text by Adam Smith who seven years later was to publish what was to become one of the major economic classics The Wealth of Nations (1776). However Smith regarded The Theory of Moral Sentiments as his most important work because in it he identified the profound human instinct to act not necessarily in self-interest but through as he phrased it a mutual sympathy of sentiments. The work is divided into seven parts starting with Part 1: Of the Propriety of Action in which Smith proposes the idea that Sympathy can underlie human actions towards others prompted by various emotions be it perception of misfortune in others or simply the pleasure of mutual sympathy. Other parts include Of the Effect of Utility upon the Sentiment of Approbation Of the Character of Virtue and finally Of Systems of Moral Philosophy. In this concluding section Smith considers the views of other philosophers including Epicurus Zeno Plato Aristotle Cicero and Hobbes as well as the opinions of his mentor Dr Francis Hutchison an important influence. In short Smith proposes that mans sense of morality is interwoven with social instincts as much as reason or self-interest. Sympathy - the contemporary word we would use is empathy - is a universal and strongly held emotion in mankind he says imbued with virtue prudence justice and beneficence. The Theory of Moral Sentiments was and remains a milestone in Western philosophy.