Adam Smith During the Scottish Enlightenment - Research Paper Example

Adam Smith was a Scottish philosopher and a pioneer of political economy. One of the prominent figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, Adam Smith wrote The Theory of Moral Sentiments and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, commonly known as The Wealth of Nations. This work is viewed as hardly the first work on economics as well as Smith’s magnum opus. The Wealth of Nations earned its author tremendous reputation and had profound influence on economics. He is often cited as the father of capitalism and modern economics1. Adam Smith studied social philosophy at the Oxford and at the University of Glasgow. On graduating, he successfully delivered a number of public lectures at Edinburgh. Those lectures led him eventually to cooperation with David Hume during the period of Scottish Enlightenment. Sharing both rationalist and humanist outlook of the European Enlightenment of the same epoch, the key thinkers and doers of Scottish Enlightenment maintained the fundamental importance of the reason combined with rejection of all the authorities that can not be vindicated by reason. They clang to an optimistic belief in the ability of a man to make changes for the better in both nature and social life, being guided solely by the reason. It was this very feature that added the Scottish Enlightenment its peculiar flavor that has distinguished it from its counterpart from over the Continent. Furthermore, Scottish Enlightenment was characterized by an extremely thorough empiricism and practically where the main virtues were held to be practical benefit, improvement and virtue itself of both societies a whole and an individual. By the middle of the 18th century Scots had become hardly the most literate nation of Europe. Its level of literacy was estimated as high as 75%. Yet it was not many of them who were making Enlightenment. The whole culture of that time Scotland was oriented to books so spirited discussions were held at such places of intellectual gatherings as The Select Society and The Poker Club. Those places in fact were crucibles from which lots of ideas distinguishing Scottish Enlightenment developed2. When teaching moral philosophy at Glasgow Smith received a chair, and during within this period of time he published his work The Theory of Moral Sentiments. Later he received a tutoring position allowing him to travel over Europe where he used to meet other prominent intellectuals of the Enlightenment epoch. During the next ten years after his turn home he wrote The Wealth of Nations and published it in 17763. Adam Smith started his course of studies in philosophy at the University of Glasgow in 1737 at the age of fourteen years. Furthermore, when teaching at this University he was extremely influenced by Francis Hutcheson, a prominent philosopher of that time as well as by living in Glasgow, the center of Scottish Enlightenment as a whole. Having been awarded by the prestigious “Snell Exhibition” scholarship, he graduated from the University in 1740. “Snell Exhibition” scholarship helped him much to travel south and to study at Oxford’s Balliol College. At Oxford University, however he incurred the University’s authorities displeasure caused by his manifested interest in philosophical views and works of David Hume. David Hume was some twelve years older than Adam Smith and was his fellow Scot. Moreover, being the son of the Scottish Enlightenment Hume wrote his work “A Treatise of Human Nature” that was esteemed by many in Oxford University to be guilty of spreading of atheistic philosophy. Furthermore he was likely to have suffered from a nervous disorder. As a result of this Smith resigned from his scholarship in 1746 and came back home to settle in Edinburgh. At all events he had been unimpressed with the standard of teaching at Oxford of that time. After returning to Edinburgh Smith was involved in intellectual circles and delivered a series of lectures attracting attention of mush wider groups of intellectualists. Consequently, in 1751, at the age of twenty-eight he became Professor of Logic at university of Glasgow. Next year, in 1752, Adam Smith obtained far more generously rewarded chair of Moral Philosophy at Glasgow University. Being an absentminded and reticent man, Smith was much inclined to enjoy his own library’s books and went on living under the same roof as his old mother. Although often awkward in situations related to his everyday life, Smith gained reputation as an animated and interesting lecturer. In this he was probably aided by Francis Hutchenson in delivering his own lectures rather in English than in Latin as it had been the rule in scholarly circles. Furthermore in his spare time Smith had plenty of opportunities to meet with lots of people of consequence in a city in a city that was still influenced by the Scottish Enlightenment. Furthermore there was even Political Economy Club in Glasgow. In 1759 Adam Smith’s major work entitled The Theory of Moral Sentiments drew much attention even beyond the shores of Britain winning him reputation in intellectual circles of such countries as Germany and France. Enhanced reputation of Adam Smith resulted in his resignation from Glasgow University4. Having resigned from his chair in 1763 he assumed relatively well-paid role of private tutor to the young Henry Scott, who was heir presumptive to the Dukedom of Buccleuch. Smith was supposed to accompany an Heir on a year-and-a-half trip over the Continent as was probably expected for the sons of the powerful and wealthy5. While serving as a tutor, Smith found that he had plenty of time he could dedicate to himself, so he embarked on became eventually his tremendously influential masterpiece An Inquiry into the nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. This was an interesting way of productive spending long idle hours in while being in France in the summer of 1764. In Paris and Geneva, Smith, then already well-known scholar and the tutor to a fabulously rich lordling could meet such prominent intellectuals of his time as Voltaire, such economic theorists as “Physiocrat” Quesnay and such no less important French economic administrators as Necker and Turgot. After returning back home from his European trip Adam Smith stayed in London for a while and met some prominent intellectuals. These were Samuel Johnson, Edmund Burke and Edward Gibbon. Smith’s established reputation and ongoing popular ideas resulted in his membership of an especially prestigious association of intellectuals known as the Royal Society After Adam Smith proved to have been a good tutor to the Duke of Bucchleuch Adam Smith was rewarded an annuity. The latter had been agreed to be entitled to him after the period of his service be over. Then he came back to Scotland where he stayed with his aging mother at Kirkcaldy, his native town and busied himself in study and writing his magnum opus "An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations" that was published in 1776. Smith’s work influenced greatly emergence of Modern Capitalism. That is why «An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations" deserves to be esteemed as one of hardly the most influential philosophic writers and philosophers of our times. Next year after the publication of The Wealth of Nation Smith was named lord rector of the Edinburgh University and in 1778 he was appointed as a custom commissioner in his mother country, Scotland. His new position was rather paid so well that Adam Smith contacted his noble pupil in order to relinquish the scholarship he had been awarded. The young nobleman nonetheless refused and preferred to go on with paying the promised annuity. Adam Smith died on 17 July, 1790 at Edinburgh, the central city of Scottish Enlightenment and was buried in that city’s Canongate churchyard several days later. BIBLIOGRAPHY Buchholz, Todd. New ideas from Dead Economists: An introduction to modern economic thought. Penguin Books, 1999 Bussing-Burks, Marie Influential Economists. Minneapolis: The Oliver Press, 2003 Herman, Arthur How the Scots Invented the Modern World. Crown Publishing Group, 2001 Viner, Jacob Douglas A. Irvin. ed. Essays on the Intellectual History of Economics. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1999 Read More