Theory of Moral Sentiments Book Club

On Tuesday May 27th a group of us will be meeting to discuss Adam Smith's "Theory of Moral Sentiments" at 7.30pm in Ashton's in Clonskeagh. Anyone who is interested can download a copy of the book here and is very welcome to join us.

It seems that at some point in most of my favourite papers that apply behavioural and psychological insights to economic decision-making, there is a reference to Adam Smith's "Theory of Moral Sentiments". Usually, these papers report some results that confound economic orthodoxy, then point out that this finding would not have surprised students of economics over 200 years ago because of Smith's 1759 work. For example,
"Smith first suggested there existed a strong link between the development of a nationalistic-oriented government, the rise of a capitalistic economy, and the expansion of an empathic gaze toward another's plight" (Henrich, Boyd et al. 2005)
"This idea is certainly not new. Adam Smith used a two-self model much like ours in his Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759)." (Thaler and Shefrin, 1981)

And to reassure the non-economists, this is a book that has universal appeal. It comprises a series of lectures originally delivered to 16 year old boys and the language and examples are chosen with the intention of engaging that audience. The result is a lively and provocative text that spells out the implications of its nuanced arguments. These arguments probe the origins of sympathy, admiration, self-respect and other things that are at the rich core of living. It is a work that speaks to the human in everyone.