The Theory of Moral Sentiments facts for kids
| Author | Adam Smith |
|---|---|
| Country | Scotland |
| Subjects | Human nature, Morality |
| Publisher | "printed for Andrew Millar, in the Strand; and Alexander Kincaid and J. Bell, in Edinburgh" |
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Publication date
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on or before 12 April 1759 |
The Theory of Moral Sentiments is a famous book written by Adam Smith in 1759. It explores how people make moral choices and understand each other's feelings. This book laid the groundwork for Smith's later important works, like The Wealth of Nations, which is about how countries become rich.
Contents
Understanding Human Feelings
Adam Smith's book dives deep into how humans think and feel. He wanted to understand why people act the way they do, especially when it comes to being kind or fair.
What is Morality?
Smith looked at morality in different ways:
- Propriety: This is about acting in a way that others would approve of. It's like knowing what's proper in a situation.
- Prudence: This means being careful and wise in your actions. It's about looking out for yourself in a smart way.
- Benevolence: This is about being kind and wanting to help others.
He also thought about what makes people act morally:
- Self-love: Our own interests and desires.
- Reason: Using our minds to figure things out.
- Sentiment: Our feelings and emotions.
The Idea of Sympathy
Adam Smith had a big idea called "sympathy." For him, sympathy wasn't just feeling sorry for someone. It was about being able to imagine what another person is feeling.
He believed that even if we are selfish, we still care about others. We feel happy when they are happy and sad when they are sad. This feeling, which he called sympathy, helps us understand each other.
Smith explained it like this:
How selfish soever man may be supposed, there are evidently some principles in his nature, which interest him in the fortunes of others, and render their happiness necessary to him, though he derives nothing from it, except the pleasure of seeing it. Of this kind is pity or compassion, the emotion we feel for the misery of others, when we either see it, or are made to conceive it in a very lively manner.
This means that even if we think only about ourselves, we still have a natural part of us that cares about other people's happiness. We feel good when we see others happy, and we feel bad when we see them sad. This feeling is like pity or compassion.
How Sympathy Works
Smith thought that we can't directly feel what others feel. Instead, we use our imagination. We put ourselves in their shoes and imagine how we would feel in their situation.
He wrote:
As we have no immediate experience of what other men feel, we can form no idea of the manner in which they are affected, but by conceiving what we ourselves should feel in the like situation. ... It is by the imagination only that we can form any conception of what are his sensations. Neither can that faculty help us to this any other way, than by representing to us what would be our own, if we were in his case.
So, if someone is hurting, we imagine ourselves in their place. This helps us understand their pain. This ability to imagine and share feelings helps us connect with others.
Sympathy and Society
Sympathy helps people want to get along. It encourages us to be kind and helps create a peaceful society. Smith believed that this natural desire to understand and share feelings is a key part of human nature. It helps us follow unwritten rules of how to behave.
Smith also believed that people are best at managing their own lives and the lives of those close to them. He thought that trying to manage the happiness of everyone in the world was a job for a higher power, not for humans. We are meant to focus on our own happiness, our family, friends, and country.
See also
