The Theory Of Moral Sentiments By Adam Smith

Adam Smith born 1723-1790 a Scottish philosopher and Economist. Defending the morals of acceptability of pursuing one's self- interest quoted in Document C “Every man is left perfectly free to pursue his own interest in his own way.” Smith gains into the general utility of society knowns as the the invisible hand argument. In the Wealth of Nations smith reveals the interests of merchants and manufacturers were opposed to those of society and had a tendency of pursuing their own interest. Smith wasn’t one to let religious attitude stop his thinking. He believed that more wealth to common people would benefit a nation's economy and society as a whole, stated in the The Wealth of Nation. Smith’s main

Smith believed that self, self-interest, and self-determination, all were mechanisms where individuals are motivated to gain wealth and power for individual gain and group gain. Smith believed that ‘self' is a matrix of reason and passion (Levine, 1998). Furthermore, Smith believed that sympathy leads to empathy, and our individual self-determination leads to accumulation of wealth that benefits others as well as us (Levine, 1998). Examples of this concept are evident in our current economic society today. We see Bill Gates and Microsoft providing technology to communicate more efficiently, Henry Ford's posterity changing the transportation market, and many others who impact man with their accumulation of wealth.

He would have explained to me that even though some philosopher could argue that all of our acts are considered as selfish since the main source of our action is us therefore it does make sense that our only motif is to obtain pleasure for ourselves. As mentioned in the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “Psychological egoists cannot establish their view simply by pointing to the pleasure or self-benefit that accompanies so many actions. After all, often self-benefit only seems to be what we ultimately desire, though a closer look reveals benefits like pleasure are likely just byproducts while the proximate desire is for that which generates them” ( Psychological Egoism). Joel Feinberg would explain that the acts that are generated to help others even though we can receive pleasure for acting such way could be and should be considered as an altruistic act. Pleasure can be a byproduct of a good deed but what matters is what generated the good deed and if it’s for a good reason and to help others it should be considered as an altruistic

According to the definition of the Moral Compass text, moral compass is the reflective, international adoption of values and behaviors as a framework for realizing the good in oneself, in others, and in the social and material environment. My own moral compass is constructed mainly by my parents and the eastern social values and principles of relationships, which are largely influenced by the thoughts and ideas of Buddhism, Taoism and the Confucianism. Among them, Confucianism affects my country’s social values and furthermore my parents and my moral compass the most. In the contrast of Western culture, Confucianism puts a huge emphasis on the relationships between individuals in family, school,

Masters and slaves are constantly discussed throughout Nietzsche’s work, but the connection between them is discussed best in his book On the Genealogy of Morality. The first of the three essays outlines two alternate structures for the creation of values, which is credited to masters and the other to slaves.

In a society where the concept of ‘self’ is removed and ‘selflessness’ is the moral good, the pursuit and attainment of personal happiness is evil. Individuals seeking happiness live a tortured existence; filled with persecution and guilt. “We, Equality 7-2521, were not happy in those years in the Home of the Students. It was not that the learning was too hard for us. It was that the learning was too easy. This is a great sin, to be born with a head which is too quick. It is not good to be different from our brothers, but it is evil to be superior to them. The Teachers told us so, and they frowned when they looked upon us.” (Rand 4) Equality 7-2521 struggles with the fact that he has attributes that set him aside from the rest of the collective. In a society of equals, there

In the Founding Brothers by Joseph Ellis, we come to understand that the United States most important priority was remaining united even if the government was a bit shaky at times. In the book the amazing individuals who founded our government include George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and James Madison. The gifted leaders in our founding nation’s government went through many challenges but in the end our most valued component is remaining united. And throughout the book I’ve come to understand that this was our founding fathers goal.

“By purusing his own interest he frequently promotes that of society more efficiently than when he really intends to(p477) ”. Humans are selfish by nature it's only natural to do what best fit their needs. when doing so it helps promote society even if said person is unconsciously benefiting the society they are still benefiting the world's growth.

Smith states that self-interest is the most essential component for encouraging general good for both the individual and the

“It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.” This is a quote from the book Wealth of Nations, which Adam Smith wrote, addresses well about why and what reason people work for. The butcher, the brewer, or the baker does not cut, stir, or bake because they want to please the customer or to feed the poor, but to earn money and for their own happiness. Adam Smith, who fully understood the concepts of capitalism and free market system, became one of the most well respected economists throughout the world. Smith became famous because of his philosophy of economics. Because of his thoughts on economics, today he is well known as the “father of

Using two articles “On the Origin of Good and Evil” by Richard Taylor and “Why Morality Is Not Relative” by James Rachels from the book Moral Life: An Introductory Reader in Ethics and Literature, author, Louis P. Pojman and Lewis Vaughn, this essay will first try to identify what each of two articles says about the nature of good and evil, and is everything on morality is relative. Taylor from the article “On the Origin of Good and Evil”, states that morality is not inspirational, but a natural reality which that mean that we are conative being, and if there are no desires, there are no values and no good or evil. His argument takes place on purposeful and cognizant living being, like ourselves, who reacts to the world in good and bad ways that relate directly to our needs. The six topics Taylor illustrated in the article are men as conative beings, which he talked about men are rational or cognitive beings that men have needs, desires, and goals, they have certain wants and generally go about trying to satisfy them in various ways; conation as the precondition of good and evil, which it is about any distinction between good and evil, and between right and wrong can be made; the emergence of good and evil, the emergence of right and wrong, that if there no good and no evil, there is nothing but bare facts of this kind or that; the emergence of right and wrong, which he explained about ethical notions as right and wrong or for moral obligation as long as we imagined a world

Rachels (2003) described ethical egoism to having three arguments which makes it a valid ethical theory to abide by. One of the arguments explained how it is in one’s self-interest to not have help from others (Rachels, 2003). It is considered degrading to have someone offer his or her “charity” (Rachels, 2003, p.194) in attempts to make one’s life better. A person does not want to be regarded as incapable and in need of someone’s help. If everyone was to adapt an ethical egoist point of view, no one would be seen as inferior and everyone would be given an equal chance to succeed (Rachels, 2003). If strong affirmative action programs were employed to the NESA program everyone would undermine

Sympathy and self-interest, when examined superficially, seem like conflicting notions. For this reason, Adam Smith is often criticized for writing two philosophical books – one about the human nature to exhibit sympathy, and one about the market’s reliance on our self-interest – that contradict each other. Through careful examination of Smith’s explanations, however, these two apparently separate forces that drive human behavior become not only interwoven, but symbiotic.

The Francis Galton fact is interesting to me. Francis gave up his riches to help others. However, I am sure he could have kept his riches and still help others around him. Thomas Hobbes has a point, a person tend to be motivated by their own self interest. Is self interest a bad thing? I do not believe so, but I do think self interest contains a positive and negative trait. I enjoyed reading your post, and have a nice day.

Self-interest plays a motivator role in morality field that makes people can consider themselves without destroying the ability of others to meet their own wants. Starting with some key terms that Smiths mentions in his books: selfishness means someone who only knows to satisfy himself without consider others’ feelings and it might deprives others’ happiness (Black 2006, p.8). Comparing to selfishness, the term ‘self-love’ means ‘pure ego’ (Fitzgibbons 1995, p.137), while the term ‘self-interest’ is an updated version of self-love, because it contains virtue and leads to self-love into a moral level (Fitzgibbons 1995,