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Speaking of Smith Archives

Smith on Dealing with the Dread of Death

August 19, 2021


The second part of Professor Harpham's analysis of the problem of sympathy with the dead in Adam Smith's Theory of Moral Sentiments.

Mind Your Manners

August 16, 2021


The final installment of a five-part #ReadWithMe of Adam Ferguson’s An Essay on the History of Civil Society.

What Adam Smith Ate: The Venerable Fruit Shrub

August 11, 2021


When we hear "shrub" today, many of us think of a plant. Yet as Wilmeth shows, the shrub is also a drink with a rich history, dating back to the days of Adam Smith.

Smithian Narrative as an Antidote to Fundamentalism

August 9, 2021


As Koenig shows, Adam Smith plays a key role in the argument of Gary Saul Morson and Morton Schapiro's new book, Minds Wide Shut: How the New Fundamentalisms Divide Us. 

The Singular Significance to Smith of Claude Buffier

August 5, 2021


In this post, Professor McAleer shows how Claude Buffier (a "learned Jesuit") influenced Smith's axiology, or his study of the nature of value and valuation. 

Plato, Adam Smith, and the Good Life

August 1, 2021


Plato and Adam Smith did not see eye to eye on private property or the virtue of commerce. But as Kevin Stucker shows, the two philosophers' thoughts on what makes "the good life" have intriguing similarities. 

Reflections on Smith’s Sympathy and the Dread of Death

July 28, 2021

The grave of Adam Smith in Canongate Kirkyard, Edinburgh.

According to Smith, we sympathize not only with living human beings, but also with the dead. But as Professor Harpham of the University of Texas at Dallas explains, we sympathize with the dead in a very peculiar way.

Ferguson on the Advancement of Civil and Commercial Arts

July 25, 2021


Part IV of a five-part #ReadWithMe on Adam Ferguson’s An Essay on the History of Civil Society.

Even Homer Nods: My Line-edits to The Theory of Moral Sentiments

July 21, 2021


"Even Homer nods. That is, even the wisest and most perspicacious authors make mistakes." In this post, Klein unpacks some of Smith's.

Adam Smith—Abducted!

July 14, 2021


Read about Adam Smith's abduction in infancy, and learn how to cook a Roma-style beef stew. 

Human Action, But Not Human Design

July 11, 2021


Part III of a Five-Part #ReadWithMe of Adam Ferguson’s An Essay on the History of Civil Society.