Adam Smith regarded The Theory of Moral Sentiments as his best work, but the main reason to read it relates to its astonishing content. Both theoretical and practical, the book cultivates our moral imaginations, assures us that ethical challenges can be overcome, encourages interaction with people whose perspectives we might be reluctant to embrace, and explains how societies come to share a moral consensus.
Imagination, Affirmation, and Interaction: Reasons for Reading Adam Smiths Moral Philosophy
By F. Eugene Heath
This
article
appeared in
the Summer 2020 issue of The Independent Review.
Other Independent Review articles by F. Eugene Heath | |
Spring 2022 | Business Ethics for Better Behavior |
Winter 1997/98 | The Politics of Faith and the Politics of Scepticism |