Charles Griswold has written a comprehensive philosophical study of Smith's moral and political thought. Griswold sets Smith's work in the context of the Enlightenment and relates it to current discussions in moral and political philosophy. Smith's appropriation as well as criticism of ancient philosophy, and his carefully balanced defence of a liberal and humane moral and political outlook, are also explored. This 1999 book is a major philosophical and historical reassessment of a key figure in the Enlightenment that will be of particular interest to philosophers and political and legal theorists, as well as historians of ideas, rhetoric, and political economy.
Texts and acknowledgements; Introduction; 1. Rhetoric, method, and system in The Theory of Moral Sentiments; 2. Sympathy and selfishness, imagination and self; 3. The passions, pleasure, and the impartial spectator; 4. Philosophy and skepticism; 5. The theory of virtue; 6. Justice; 7. The moral sentiments and The Wealth of Nations; 8. Philosophy, imagination, and the fragility of beauty: on reconciliation with nature; Epilogue; Bibliography; Index.
