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The Theory of Moral Sentiments

by Adam Smith (1723–1790)

  • Free to read
  • 8 hours to read
  • 22 chapters
  • Reading level: College-level

"The Theory of Moral Sentiments" by Adam Smith is a philosophical work published in 1759. It explores how humans form moral judgments through sympathy—the ability to imaginatively understand others' feelings by placing ourselves in their situations. Smith examines the foundations of ethical behavior, the limits of human moral capacity, and how self-interest paradoxically serves society's broader good. The book provided the philosophical groundwork for Smith's later economic theories, offering insights into human nature that bridge moral philosophy and social behavior.

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  • Ethics · Early works to 1800
  • Language and languages · Early works to 1800

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Section I

Of the Propriety of Action.

Of the sense of propriety Page 1.

CHAP. I. Of Sympathy ibid.

CHAP. II. Of the Pleasure of mutual Sympathy 9

CHAP. III. Of the manner in which we judge of the propriety or impropriety of the affections of other men, by their concord or dissonance with our own 14

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Contents

  1. Part I
  2. Section I
  3. Section II
  4. Section III
  5. Part II
  6. Section I
  7. Section II
  8. Section III
  9. Part III
  10. Part IV
  11. Part V
  12. Part V
  13. Section III
  14. Section IV
  15. Part I: Of the Propriety of Action
  16. Section I: Of the Sense of Propriety
  17. Section II: Of the degrees of the different passions which are consistent with propriety
  18. Section II: Of justice and beneficence
  19. Section III: Of the influence of fortune upon the sentiments of mankind, with regard to the merit or demerit of actions
  20. Part III: Of the foundation of our judgments concerning our own sentiments and conduct, and of the sense of duty
  21. Part IV: Of the EFFECT of UTILITY upon the sentiment of approbation
  22. Part V: Of the INFLUENCE of CUSTOM and FASHION upon the sentiments of moral approbation and disapprobation
  23. Part VI: Of Systems of MORAL PHILOSOPHY
  24. Section I: Of the questions which ought to be examined in a theory of moral sentiments
  25. Section II: Of the different accounts which have been given of the nature of virtue
  26. Introduction
  27. Section IV: Of the manner in which different authors have treated of the practical rules of morality

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About this edition

This free edition of The Theory of Moral Sentiments by Adam Smith comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #67363, released 2022-02-09. It is in the public domain in the United States, so you can read it here in full at no cost, on any phone, tablet or computer. Genre: Philosophy & Ethics.

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