Adam Smith as Theologian

by Oslington; Paul

• ISBN13: 9780415880718
• ISBN10: 0415880718
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-02-22
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Adam Smith wrote in a Scotland where Calvinism, Continental natural law theory, Stoic philosophy, and the Newtonian tradition of scientific natural theology were key to the intellectual lives of his contemporaries. But what impact did these ideas have on Smith's system? What was Smith's understanding of nature, divine providence, and theodicy? How was the new discourse of political economy positioned in relation to moral philosophy and theology?This book considers the theological background and meaning of Smith's work, opening up a dialogue between economists and theologians. Adam Smith as Theologian gathers a group of eminent economists, historians, philosophers, and theologians to reflect on these questions, examining the extent to which even contemporary economics may contain residues of Smith's theological mores.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. vii
Introduction: Theological Readings of Smith	p. 1
Smith in Context
The Influence of Religious Thinking on the Smithian Revolution	p. 19
Adam Smith, Theology and Natural Law Ethics	p. 24
Sympathy and Domination: Adam Smith, Happiness and the Virtues of Augustinianism	p. 33
Christian Freedom in Political Economy: The Legacy of John Calvin in the Thought of Adam Smith	p. 46
Divine Action, Providence and Adam Smith's Invisible Hand	p. 61
Analysis and Assessment of Adam Smith's Theology
Adam Smith, Natural Theology, and the Natural Sciences	p. 77
How High Does The Impartial Spectator Go?	p. 92
Adam Smith's Theodicy	p. 98
From Civil to Political Economy: Adam Smith's Theological Debt	p. 106
Man and Society in Adam Smith's Natural Morality: The Impartial Spectator, the Man of System and the Invisible Hand	p. 125
A Visible Hand: Contemporary Lessons from Adam Smith	p. 133
List of Contributors	p. 143
Index	p. 145
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