The Theory of Moral Sentiments

Born in Kirkaldy, Scotland, near Edinburgh, in 1723, Adam Smith found his way to the University of Glasgow, where he came under the tutelage of Dr. Francis Hutcheson, who is best known for his “moral sense” theory and one of the foremost minds of the Scottish Enlightenment. From there, Smith went to Oxford before returning to Scotland and eventually back to the University of Glasgow as a professor of logic. By the time he succeeded Hutcheson as chair of moral philosophy, Smith already was well known in Scottish intellectual circles, particularly the close-knit community of writers who made Glasgow and Edinburgh such vibrant hubs of Enlightenment thought. The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) made Smith famous well beyond Scotland’s borders.

Today, Smith is remembered primarily as the author of An Inquiry into the Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776), wherein he explodes the centuries-old economic theory of mercantilism and argues instead for economic freedom. The Theory of Moral Sentiments established the theoretical foundation for that later and more influential book.

Author of An Inquiry into the Original of Our Ideas of Beauty and Virtue (1725), an Essay on the Nature and Conduct of the Passions and Affections (1728), the three-volume A System of Moral Philosophy (1755), and other books and essays, Dr.