Resources by Theme

Learn more about Smith the man, the scholar, and the teacher, as well as his historical surroundings. 

The Scottish Enlightenment reaffirmed our natural sociality while upholding the ideal of the individual. Learn more about Adam Smith and his contemporaries.

Smith held a chair in Moral Philosophy; his first published work, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, is a testament to the origins of his exploration into what makes man tick. 

While Smith is often named as the “father of economics,” the discipline we know today in many ways bore little relation to Smith's line of study. Explore its origins today.

Adam Smith engaged in more than university life. The influence of the larger culture around him can be seen in many of his lectures and essays.

In 1776, Adam Smith published The Wealth of Nations, and the American colonies declared their independence from Great Britain. Neither event occurred in a vacuum.