The Theory of Moral Sentiments

The Theory of Moral Sentiments is the first great work of Adam Smith, published in 1759, sixteen years before The Wealth of Nations. In it Smith asks where our sense of right and wrong comes from, and answers that it grows from sympathy, our natural power to enter into the feelings of others. He introduces the idea of the impartial spectator, an imagined fair witness within us whose judgement we learn to seek, and traces how conscience, praise, duty, and self-command are built up from this social feeling. Long overshadowed by his economics, the book is now read again as the moral foundation on which his whole system rests. This free PDF and EPUB presents the complete text.