Adam Smith, Scientist and Evolutionist: Part 1
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2019
Abstract
In this series of essays, I want to illustrate the power of Adam Smith’s social system, developed in The Theory of Moral Sentiments and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations to bring order to contemporary experiments where traditional game-theoretic models failed to predict human action even under the conditions of anonymity and to elaborate on lessons that behavioural scientists should draw from Smith’s works. In Part 1, I outline Smith’s social, evolutionary system of Sentiments and its relevance to both human decision making and the broader rules of human conduct. In Part 2, I apply these rules to game theory to show how they improve upon traditional models and explain why the orthodox response to the failure of those models falls short of Smith’s system. Finally, in Part 3, I explore the implications of Smith’s social-moral system to trade, wealth, and human liberty.
Recommended Citation
Smith, V. L. (2019). Adam Smith, scientist and evolutionist: Part 1. Retrieved from https://www.adamsmithworks.org/life_times/adam-smith-scientist-and-evolutionist-modelling-other-regarding-behavior-without-social-preferences
Copyright
Liberty Fund, Inc.
Comments
This article was originally published on AdamSmithWorks.org.