Moral Philosophy

moral philosophy

Lucian after Hume: Love, war, and a dialogue of the dead

October 9, 2024

As death drew near, David Hume read Lucian’s Dialogues of the Dead, a strange text, full of pithy gems. Alcorn discusses one of the "finger pointer" dialogues and presents a fresh interpretation of Hume’s theories of necessity and morality.

Smith and Aristotle on Owning and Giving

April 10, 2024

Any social system that foments greed at the expense of the generosity is ruining individual human lives and those individuals' communities.

Smith Perfects British Moral Sense Theory, Which Becomes a Social/Ethical Foundation for Wealth of Nations

March 20, 2024

Adam Smith represents a culmination of British Enlightenment philosophy and a pioneering of the philosophy of political economy that shaped the Industrial Revolution.

Sympathy for Affliction: Adam Smith and Charles Dickens

July 5, 2023

"For Smith, the moral imagination enables us not only to know what others are experiencing but to become 'in some measure the same person.' So highly developed is this capacity that theatergoers who are in no danger will jump out of their seats when something on the screen startles them, and many a reader of novels has wept or rejoiced right along with one of the characters."

Friendship in Aristotle and Adam Smith

June 14, 2023

"Their treatments of friendship differ mainly because their works have different objectives and unequal foundations... Despite these differences, however, both Aristotle and Adam Smith give accounts of friendship that are far more robust and generous than those of most other authors. Recognising its importance to a good life, both take friendship seriously."

The Soul of Adam Smith's Classical Liberalism

May 17, 2023

Adam Smith in the Anthropocene

April 19, 2023

Can Adam Smith's philosophy help those who care about environmental issues develop a theory of ecoliberalism?

Paradigm Lock: Part 1

February 8, 2023

"...Smith, often the reputed defender of self-interest,1 shows us how “self-interest” can be trumped by something even more powerful. That more powerful force is our obsession with symmetry, order, perfection, or fittingness. Smith first uses a watch to make this point."

Paradigm Lock: Part 2

February 15, 2023

What are the pathologies morality may be subject to, and how can we avoid becoming dangerously locked in a moralistic paradigm? Den Uyl thinks Smith would share our worries about divisiveness today.

Readings of Smith by Contemporary Political Philosophers: Michael J. Sandel

August 17, 2022

On Adam Smith and Envy

August 10, 2022

"The same envy without which economies cannot fully activate also leads to the corruption and misery of individuals."

Gunderman points to Smith (in addition to the Buddha, Socrates, and Jesus) as a guide to balance.

Social Cohesion and Economic Prosperity

August 3, 2022

Fractured societies will be less able to benefit from the prosperity that's possible with a more cohesive social existence. Smith saw this and offers his conception of "sympathy" and recommendations on education of the lowers classes as way to bridge the gaps between people.

On Why Mutual Sympathy is Important to Adam Smith

May 11, 2022

Nothing disturbs us more than to observe a lack of sympathy. The pleasures of mutual sympathy thus bring individuals together.

Readings of Smith by Contemporary Political Philosophers: John Rawls

September 22, 2021

Conscience and Moral Rules in Adam Smith

August 11, 2021

Educational Despotism

September 1, 2021

Insights from Adam Smith on the Erosion of Sympathy in Medicine

June 23, 2021

The Importance of Self-Command

May 5, 2021

Ethics in Aristotle and Adam Smith

April 21, 2021

The Psychological and Normative Framework of TMS

May 27, 2020

Facing Up To Oppression: Adam Smith and the Question of Reparations

September 30, 2020

Adam Smith and the Paradox of Tragedy

February 10, 2020

Adam Smith on Education: Schooling

December 18, 2019

Adam Smith on Education : Socialization and Acculturation

October 2, 2019

The Infidel and the Professor: The Friendship of Adam Smith and David Hume

September 1, 2018

Adam Smith and Aristotle

November 20, 2019

Adam Smith on Moral Education

October 16, 2019

Nothing Useless, Absurd, or Fantastical: Adam Smith on Women's Education

October 9, 2019

Adam Smith on Resentment

May 15, 2019

Smith and Locke on Property

July 31, 2019

Adam Smith on Slavery

May 15, 2019

Adam Smith, Sympathy, and Spontaneous Social-Moral Order

September 21, 2017

Adam Smith como filósofo moral

April 30, 2019

Adam Smith as Moral Philosopher

September 21, 2017

Propriety in Smith- Part 1

January 9, 2019

Propriety in Smith- Part 2

January 23, 2019

Prang (L.) & Co. [Public domain]

An Animal That Trades

A five-part short video series on the life and contemporary relevance of Adam Smith.