The Myth of Self-Interest in Modern Scholarship and the Roles of the Actor-Spectator and Invisible Hand Models in the Works of Adam Smith Open Access

Abstract

The legacy of Adam Smith has largely been composed of Smith's contributions to the development of economics as a discipline. Because of this great contribution, his moral philosophy has unfortunately been neglected in recent times in favor of other Scottish philosophers such as David Hume, whereas Smith has been relegated to being remembered simply as an economist. However, Smith was a true renaissance man, and upon digging deeper into his philosophical system, we can discover a valuable and sophisticated explanation of human behavior that subsequently serves as the basis for his economic system. The Actor- Spectator Model found in his first and more favored work, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, allows the reader to more clearly understand the axioms of human behavior upon which Smith bases the common theme of the search for equilibrium that we see in The Wealth of Nations and in particular, in his Invisible Hand metaphor. In showing how these two works are related, we can see that it was not only Smith's economics that played a role in the development of Hegel's Idealism and Marx's Communism, but his moral philosophy as well.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

1. Introduction................................................................................1

2. Historical Context........................................................................2

3. Literature Review. .......................................................................4

4. Adam Smith: Biography and Influences...........................................7

5. The Theory of Moral Sentiments....................................................12

   1. On the Notion of Selfishness.................................................13

   2. The Actor-Spectator Model....................................................17

6. The Wealth of Nations..................................................................19

   1. Smith's Intention for the Work...............................................20

   2. Introduction to Economics.....................................................25

   3. The Invisible Hand................................................................26

7. The Influence of the Actor-Spectator Model......................................34

   1. The Common Theme of Self-Regulation...................................34

   2. From Smith to Hegel.............................................................35

8. Smith's Influence on Marx..............................................................40

   1. Smith's Contradictory Labor Theory of Value.............................40

   2. A Similar View on Workers' Wages and Merchants.....................44

9. Conclusion...................................................................................48

10. Bibliography.................................................................................53

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Interdisciplinary Studies in Society and Culture
Degree	BA
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Philosophy Political Science, General Economics, History
Keyword	Invisible Hand Hegel Marx Adam Smith
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Corrigan, Kevin, Emory University
Committee Members	Wakefield, Peter, Emory University Francis, Andrew, Emory University

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