Abstract
This chapter aims to provide an overview of the meaning of the terms ‘nature’ and ‘natural’ as used by Smith in his moral philosophy in relation to human nature. Starting from a synthesis of a number of perspectives, as opposed to those that see nature unilaterally as an object of description or as a matrix of moral norms, I show in what sense nature could be a normative object amenable to description in Smith’s moral philosophy.
In particular, I describe the possibility of considering the relationship between nature and morality in a non-unilateral way. In doing so, I show how, for Smith, nature can express itself through morality; sometimes nature itself can be moral; or morality can express itself naturally or directly; at other times, differently, morality seems to correct aspects of nature. Within this framework, I emphasise that Smith does not reduce morality to what is natural in relation to the divine will or God. Rather, for Smith, the limits of descriptive knowledge of a normative nature open up the field of possibility for a different understanding of human beings in moral terms.
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Notes
- 1.
See the introduction to the Glasgow Critical Edition p. 44 (TMS) and Montes (2004).
- 2.
I give one example of a possible reading of the complex logic of human nature in Smith. Human nature is characterised in part by the capacity to feel sympathy and passions, the object of sympathy. Assuming that passions and sympathy are central features of human nature, and adopting a perspective that focuses on the human being in relation to others, human nature can be defined as either subject or object, depending on whether it is embodied in the spectator or the agent: in this sense, given the viewpoint of the spectator and given its representative character of human nature, the human being who feels sympathy for the passion of the other is a subject who rejoins the object of himself through the other.
- 3.
See TMS, VII.ii.1.46.
- 4.
For example, Grotius had the merit of having founded positive law on natural jurisprudence, thus, on a set of legal principles at the basis of the law of every civil government (Grotius 1925).
- 5.
On Smith’s conception of naturalism, see Hanley (2010).
- 6.
On the normative role of laws, see TMS, II.ii.1.8.
- 7.
This moral effort to see a situation from an impartial point of view can become habitual, it is not always the object of an effort (TMS, III.3.29). For example, human mind is naturally inclined to become accustomed to general rules of conduct (TMS, III.4.12).
- 8.
On the spontaneous order, see Smith (2006).
- 9.
For Smith, sympathy is related not only to human nature, but also to historical context and personal history (for example, habits). In this sense, Smith recognises the possibility of different experiences of something arising from different personal experiences and a common human nature.
- 10.
At the same time, for Smith, ‘natural’ can mean what is habitual or normative (natural price) or what is spontaneous (natural propensity to barter).
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Bonfiglioli, R. (2024). A Semantic Overview of ‘Nature’ and ‘Natural’ in Adam Smith’s Moral Philosophy. In: Human Nature, Mind and the Self in Adam Smith's Moral Philosophy. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-56779-7_4
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