Abstract

Adam Smith vigorously uses methodological individualism, but his individuals are radically social and entangled with each other. All social phenomena and institutions, for Smith, are not the product of any human wisdom, nor are they motivated by public spirit, but they are the unintended and unpredicted consequences of individual actions. Yet, those individuals can be defined only through how others see them, and are motivated by the approbation that (either real or imaginary) others may give them. Others are the mirror through which individuals see themselves, and the ability to see oneself through the eyes of another is sympathy. This is why Smith may work with methodological individualism, but a sympathetic individualism.