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Human Nature, Mind and the Self in Adam Smith's Moral Philosophy

What Does it Mean to Be Human?

  • Book
  • © 2024

Overview

Authors:
  1. Riccardo Bonfiglioli

    1. University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

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  • Provides tools for interpreting the relationship between ethics and economics
  • Re-examines certain conceptual prejudices in relation to the way we think about human beings
  • Systematises many of Smith's concepts in the light of the most recent literature

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Table of contents (10 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xv
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  2. General Introduction

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
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    2. Research Questions, Aims and Expected Results

      • Riccardo Bonfiglioli
      Pages 3-13

    3. Methodological Remarks

      • Riccardo Bonfiglioli
      Pages 15-31

    4. Adam Smith’s Historical and Biographical Context

      • Riccardo Bonfiglioli
      Pages 33-37

  3. Adam Smith on Nature and Human Nature

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 39-39
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    2. A Semantic Overview of ‘Nature’ and ‘Natural’ in Adam Smith’s Moral Philosophy

      • Riccardo Bonfiglioli
      Pages 41-51

    3. A Synthesis of Adam Smith’s Conception of Human Nature

      • Riccardo Bonfiglioli
      Pages 53-82

  4. The Origin and Development of the Self in Adam Smith’s Moral Philosophy: History and Natural Self-Correction

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 83-83
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    2. Philosophy of History, Morality and Human Beings

      • Riccardo Bonfiglioli
      Pages 85-102

    3. Natural Self-correction and Human Beings

      • Riccardo Bonfiglioli
      Pages 103-120

  5. Adam Smith’s Model of the Mind: Sympathy, Imagination, The Impartial Spectator and Immediacy

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 121-121
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    2. Perfect and Imperfect Sympathy in Adam Smith’s Moral Philosophy

      • Riccardo Bonfiglioli
      Pages 123-141

    3. Immediacy as Philosophical Problem in Adam Smith’s Moral Theory

      • Riccardo Bonfiglioli
      Pages 143-186

    4. Conclusions

      • Riccardo Bonfiglioli
      Pages 187-197

  6. Back Matter

    Pages 199-224
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Keywords

About this book

This book investigates the problematisation in Adam Smith's moral philosophy of a classical question: what makes us human beings from a moral standpoint? To do this, Riccardo Bonfiglioli explores the relationship between the concepts of ‘human nature’, ‘mind’ and ‘the self’ in order to reconstruct Smith’s theory of subjectivity. After providing a systematic reconstruction of Adam Smith’s conceptions of ‘human nature’ , ‘mind’ and ‘the self’ – exploring some aspects of Smith’s philosophy (nature, philosophy of history, sympathy and imagination) and their empirical expressions (education, conduct and character) – Bonfiglioli argues that, in Adam Smith’s work, the meaning of ‘moral human beings’ would depend on the human being’s effort to live in harmony with oneself and the others. According to Bonfiglioli, in Smith’s moral theory, this ‘harmony with oneself and the others’ would be achieved in relation to a certain kind of awareness that can be possible when human beings try to judge the conduct and try to act according to the impartial spectator. Specifically, this impartial spectator is reinterpreted by the author in the light of the concept of immediacy.

Authors and Affiliations

  • University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

    Riccardo Bonfiglioli

About the author

Riccardo Bonfiglioli is academic tutor and subject expert at the University of Bologna. He is associate member of the Walras-Pareto Centre (University of Lausanne), dynamic psychology researcher and MBSR instructor (Aim Milan).

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Human Nature, Mind and the Self in Adam Smith's Moral Philosophy

  • Book Subtitle: What Does it Mean to Be Human?

  • Authors: Riccardo Bonfiglioli

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-56779-7

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham

  • eBook Packages: Religion and Philosophy, Philosophy and Religion (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-031-56778-0Published: 25 April 2024

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-031-56781-0Due: 29 May 2024

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-031-56779-7Published: 24 April 2024

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XV, 224

  • Topics: Ethics, History of Philosophy

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