Overview

Eric Schliesser's Adam Smith is the product of two decades' reflection by the author on the great Scottish Enlightenment. Unique among treatments of Adam Smith, Schliesser's book treats him as a systematic philosopher. Smith was a giant of the Scottish Enlightenment with polymath interests; Schliesser thus explores Smith's economics and ethics in light of his other commitments on the nature of knowledge, the theory of emotions, the theory of mind, his account of language, the nature of causation, and his views on methodology. He places Smith's ideas in the context of a host of other philosophers, especially Hume, Rousseau, and Newton; and he draws on the reception of Smith's ideas by Sophie de Grouchy, Mary Wollstonecraft, and other philosophers and economists to sketch the elements of, and the detailed connections within, Smith's system. Adam Smith traces the outlines of Smith's intellectual system and situates it in the context of his highly developed views on the norms that govern responsible speech. In particular, the book articulates Smith's concerns about the impact of his public policy recommendations, especially on the least powerful in society. In so doing, Schliesser offers new interpretations of Smith's views on the invisible hand, the Wealth of Nations, his treatment of virtue, the nature of freedom, the individual's relationship to society, his account of the passions, the moral roles of religion, and his treatment of the role of mathematics in economics. While the book does offer a single argument, it is organized in a modular fashion and includes a helpful index; readers with a more focused interest in Smith's achievements can skip to their section of interest.

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9780190690151

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Reviews

""This is a comprehensive Adam Smith, by a philosopher for philosophers and other scholars in pursuit of the roots of humanity in sentiment, and its functional developments that specify how we have become who we are. A rich intellectual treatment for scholars interested in the enduring insights of Adam Smith, a system thinker, into understanding the social, psychological, political and economic features that have emerged in the modern world."" --Vernon L. Smith, Chapman University, 2002 Nobel Laureate in Economics ""Eric Schliesser's welcome book displays an impressive command of Smith's texts, offering careful readings of passages to show there is more to these than often thought. It also displays a remarkable command of Smith's intellectual context, helpfully illuminating anticipations of his ideas in previous thinkers, and resonances of his ideas in later thinkers. And it displays a striking command of the voluminous secondary literature. As such, it not only makes important contributions to several current debates but also opens up new questions concerning Smith as both a philosopher and 'public thinker."" --Ryan Patrick Hanley, Mellon Distinguished Professor of Political Science, Marquette University ""Schliesser's book on Adam Smith is simply fabulous. There has never been a book until now that makes the case for Smith as a systematic thinker. I read the whole with great delight. It will get an enormous amount of attention since Schliesser is the only authority who is comfortable with so many aspects of Smith's work. "" --David Levy, Professor of Economics, George Mason University

This is a comprehensive Adam Smith, by a philosopher for philosophers and other scholars in pursuit of the roots of humanity in sentiment, and its functional developments that specify how we have become who we are. A rich intellectual treatment for scholars interested in the enduring insights of Adam Smith, a system thinker, into understanding the social, psychological, political and economic features that have emerged in the modern world. --Vernon L. Smith, Chapman University, 2002 Nobel Laureate in Economics Eric Schliesser's welcome book displays an impressive command of Smith's texts, offering careful readings of passages to show there is more to these than often thought. It also displays a remarkable command of Smith's intellectual context, helpfully illuminating anticipations of his ideas in previous thinkers, and resonances of his ideas in later thinkers. And it displays a striking command of the voluminous secondary literature. As such, it not only makes important contributions to several current debates but also opens up new questions concerning Smith as both a philosopher and 'public thinker. --Ryan Patrick Hanley, Mellon Distinguished Professor of Political Science, Marquette University Schliesser's book on Adam Smith is simply fabulous. There has never been a book until now that makes the case for Smith as a systematic thinker. I read the whole with great delight. It will get an enormous amount of attention since Schliesser is the only authority who is comfortable with so many aspects of Smith's work. --David Levy, Professor of Economics, George Mason University

Author Information

Eric Schliesser (PhD, 2002, The University of Chicago) teaches political theory at The University of Amsterdam since 2015. He has published widely on early modern philosophy and sciences, including political economy as well as recent philosophy of economics. His edited volumes include Sympathy: A History, The Oxford Handbook of Isaac Newton, Ten Neglected Classics of Philosophy (all with Oxford University Press). This is his first monograph. He is editor of The Oxford Handbook of Newton (forthcoming, OUP), Ten Neglected Classics of Philosophy (2016, OUP), and Sympathy: A History (2015, OUP).

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