The Theory of Moral Sentiments

by Smith, Adam

• ISBN13: 9780486452913
• ISBN10: 0486452913
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-12-01
• Publisher: Dover Publications

Summary

The foundation for a system of morals, this 1749 work is a landmark of moral and political thought. Its highly original theories of conscience, moral judgment, and virtue offer a reconstruction of the Enlightenment concept of social science, embracing both political economy and theories of law and government.

Table of Contents

PART I OF THE PROPRIETY OF ACTION, CONSISTING OF THREE SECTIONS
Of the sense of propriety	3	(20)
Of sympathy	3	(5)
Of the pleasure of mutual sympathy	8	(3)
Of the manner in which we judge of the propriety or impropriety of the affections of other men, by their concord or dissonance with our own	11	(3)
The same subject continued	14	(5)
Of the amiable and respectable virtues	19	(4)
Of the degrees of the different passions which are consistent with propriety	23	(18)
Introduction	23	(1)
Of the passions which take their origin from the body	23	(5)
Of those passions which take their origin from a particular turn or habit of the imagination	28	(3)
Of the unsocial passions	31	(5)
Of the social passions	36	(2)
Of the selfish passions	38	(3)
Of the effects of prosperity and adversity upon the judgment of mankind with regard to the propriety of action; and why it is more easy to obtain their approbation in the one state than in the other	41	(24)
That though our sympathy with sorrow is generally a more lively sensation than our sympathy with joy, it commonly falls much more short of the violence of what is naturally felt by the person principally concerned	41	(7)
Of the origin of ambition, and of the distinction of ranks	48	(10)
Of the corruption of our moral sentiments, which is occasioned by this disposition to admire the rich and the great, and to despise or neglect persons of poor and mean condition	58	(7)
PART II OF MERIT AND DEMERIT; OR, OF THE OBJECTS OF REWARD AND PUNISHMENT; CONSISTING OF THREE SECTIONS
Of the sense of merit and demerit	65	(13)
Introduction	65	(1)
That whatever appears to be the proper object of gratitude, appears to deserve reward; and that, in the same manner, whatever appears to be the proper object of resentment appears to deserve punishment	66	(2)
Of the proper objects of gratitude and resentment	68	(3)
That where there is no approbation of the conduct of the person who confers the benefit, there is little sympathy with the gratitude of him who receives it; and that, on the contrary, where there is no disapprobation of the motives of the person who does the mischief, there is no sort of sympathy with the resentment of him who suffers it	71	(2)
Recapitulation of the foregoing chapters	73	(2)
The analysis of the sense of merit and demerit	75	(3)
Of justice and beneficence	78	(14)
Comparison of those two virtues	78	(4)
Of the sense of justice, of remorse, and of the consciousness of merit	82	(4)
Of the utility of this constitution of nature	86	(6)
Of the influence of fortune upon the sentiments of mankind, with regard to the merit or demerit of actions	92	(121)
Introduction	92	(1)
Of the causes of this influence of fortune	93	(4)
Of the extent of this influence of fortune	97	(8)
Of the final cause of this irregularity of sentiments	105	(6)
PART III OF THE FOUNDATION OF OUR JUDGMENTS CONCERNING OUR OWN SENTIMENTS AND CONDUCT, AND OF THE SENSE OF DUTY
Of the principle of self-approbation and of self-disapprobation	111	(3)
Of the love of praise, and of that of praise-worthiness; and of the dread of blame, and of that of blame-worthiness	114	(17)
Of the influence and authority of conscience	131	(20)
Of the nature of self-deceit, and of the origin and use of general rules	151	(5)
Of the influence and authority of the general rules of morality, and that they are justly regarded as the laws of the deity	156	(10)
In what cases the sense of duty ought to be the sole principle of our conduct; and in what cases it ought to concur with other motives	166	(11)
PART IV OF THE EFFECT OF UTILITY UPON THE SENTIMENT OF APPROBATION CONSISTING OF ONE SECTION
Of the beauty which the appearance of utility bestows upon all the productions of art, and of the extensive influence of this species of beauty	177	(8)
Of the beauty which the appearance of utility bestows upon the characters and actions of men; and how far the perception of this beauty may be regarded as one of the original principles of approbation	185	(8)
PART V OF THE INFLUENCE OF CUSTOM AND FASHION UPON THE SENTIMENTS OF MORAL APPROBATION AND DISAPPROBATION CONSISTING OF ONE SECTION
Of the influence of custom and fashion upon our notions of beauty and deformity	193	(6)
Of the influence of custom and fashion upon moral sentiments	199	(14)
PART VI OF THE CHARACTER OF VIRTUE CONSISTING OF THREE SECTIONS
Introduction	213	(1)
Of the character of the individual, so far as it affects his own happiness; or of prudence	213	(6)
Of the character of the individual, so far as it can affect the happiness of other people	219	(20)
Introduction	219	(1)
Of the order in which individuals are recommended by nature to our care and attention	220	(9)
Of the order in which societies are by nature recommended to our beneficence	229	(7)
Of universal benevolence	236	(3)
Of self-command	239	(30)
Conclusion of the sixth part	263	(6)
PART VII OF SYSTEMS OF MORAL PHILOSOPHY: CONSISTING OF FOUR SECTIONS
Of the questions which ought to be examined in a theory of moral sentiments	269	(1)
Of the different accounts which have been given of the nature of virtue	270	(44)
Introduction	270	(1)
Of those systems which make virtue consist in propriety	271	(23)
Of those systems which make virtue consist in prudence	294	(6)
Of those systems which make virtue consist in benevolence	300	(6)
Of licentious systems	306	(8)
Of the different systems which have been formed concerning the principle of approbation	314	(14)
Introduction	314	(1)
Of those systems which deduce the principle of approbation from self-love	315	(3)
Of those systems which make reason the principle of approbation	318	(4)
Of those systems which make sentiment the principle of approbation	322	(6)
Of the manner in which different authors have treated of the practical rules of morality	328	(15)
Endnotes	343