Economics and philosophy: tension and solution in Adam Smith’s work

Angela Ganem ()

Brazilian Journal of Political Economy, 2002, vol. 22, issue 4, 670-684

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to show that Adam Smith’s work is indeed unified as can be seen from the fundamental concepts pervading both The Theory of Moral Sentiments and The Wealth of Nations. This approach opposes the canonical reading of Adam Smith’s work, in the sense that it links together four key concepts nested parities in a successive chain of three intersecting groups leading, ultimately, to the unified understanding of his contribution, apparently disperse into several independent pieces. The four concepts organized into three groups are: experience and imagination, imagination and morality and morality and self-interest. The conclusion is that, according to Adam Smith, The Wealth must be read in the light of the TMS; the invisible hand feeds back on the actual morality, economy and moral come together without any conflict under the justification of the social order provided by the market. JEL Classification: B1.

Keywords: Economic thought; Adam Smith; morality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2002
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