A Dictionary of Philosophy, Third Edition
. 1723–90. Moral philosopher and economist, who was born at Kirkcaldy and worked mainly in Scotland, including Glasgow University. Though primarily known for his economic theory based on an individualistic system of free enterprise, he also developed a system of moral philosophy in his first book. This system was primarily founded on that sympathy which, he said, we feel for the motives of moral agents and for the gratitude or resentment of those affected by the actions of such agents.
He also criticized the ‘moral sense’ theory of his teacher HUTCHESON. There is some dispute about how far a single view of human nature underlies Smith’s two main books. The Theory of Moral Sentiments, 1759. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, 1776.
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