Activity: The Virtue of Beneficence
“Bellringers” are classroom tools that help set the tone or introduce a topic in the classroom. Adam Smith Works bellringers use quotations from and activities based on the work of Adam Smith, allowing you to illustrate the long history of the ideas you will explore in your classroom by grounding them in great books.
Adam Smith Works Activities are quotations with accompanying activities that you can discuss with your students to introduce a topic, generate deeper discussion, or set the tone for your lesson. They cover topics from economics to history to moral philosophy.
Bellringers are presented as slides ready to pull and use in your classroom. On each slide, you can find speaking notes and links to more information.
Adam Smith Works Activities are quotations with accompanying activities that you can discuss with your students to introduce a topic, generate deeper discussion, or set the tone for your lesson. They cover topics from economics to history to moral philosophy.
Bellringers are presented as slides ready to pull and use in your classroom. On each slide, you can find speaking notes and links to more information.
- Click the hyperlinked quotation (for example, look for something like (WN 1.ii.2) to see the quotation in the context of the full text.
- Use the "Find" feature in the left-hand menu to search for the first few words in the quotation and see it in context.
- Alternatively, click on "Contents" to find the relevant chapter of the text. "WN 1.ii.2" is Wealth of Nations Book 1, chapter 2. "TMS I.iii.1.7" is The Theory of Moral Sentiments Book 1, chapter 3, section 1.
(The last number in the citation refers to the paragraph in the section.)
- Where available, click "Click here for more about this quotation" to visit a short article about the passage in question.
- Speaking notes suggest topics for discussion when using each quotation.
“Beneficence is always free, it cannot be extorted by force, the mere want of it exposes to no punishment; because the mere want of beneficence tends to do no real positive evil. It may disappoint of the good which might reasonably have been expected, and upon that account it may justly excite dislike and disapprobation: it cannot, however, provoke any resentment which mankind will go along with.”(TMS II.ii.1.3)
This group activity should take ten minutes, plus any time allocated for class discussion.
Divide the class into groups of four to six students and provide them with the prompts below for discussion.
What is beneficence?
Adam Smith claims that failing to be beneficent does not cause a "positive evil" and therefore beneficence should be encouraged, but should not and cannot be forced. Discuss with your group whether or not you believe this is true, and use some examples to explain your reasoning.
How do societies teach young children to be kind and generous? Can this be forced upon them? Should it be forced upon them? Why or why not?
Once group discussions are complete, students may be asked to share their thoughts with the class or via a short writing assignment.
Adam Smith contrasts the virtue of justice with the virtue of justice, about which another activity is provided here.
See the quotation in context as part of the full online text of The Theory of Moral Sentiments here. Use the "Find" feature in the left-hand menu to search for the first few words in the quotation and see it in context.
Read more about this quotation at the OLL Entry. You may choose to share this piece with your students following their discussion. Do they agree or disagree with the explanation provided?