Works that Shaped the World: Adam Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments and Wealth of Nations

In 2022, the HRC's Works that Shaped the World public lecture series focuses on religion.

Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations is esteemed by economists, even economists unencumbered by historical interests, as the foundation text of their discipline. Hardly a distinguished lecture or presidential address passes without some reference to the great man. In the two centuries since he wrote, Smith and his book have been recruited for all manner of economic and political causes. Among humanities scholars Smith's esteem among economists tends to guarantee him either neglect or hostility.

Yet there are good reasons for humanities scholars to read Smith. His earlier and neglected Theory of Moral Sentiments is increasingly being recognised as an important work of moral psychology, offering a different and perhaps more plausible account than that of his good friend David Hume. Another reason for taking an interest in Smith is the way his work weaves theology, moral theory and social science together into a coherent and powerful system. Irrespective of its merits, Smith's system marks a transition between older styles of enquiry and modern social science.

Presenter

Professor Paul Oslington
Prior to abandoning the respectable university world to join friends at Alphacrucis to build a Pentecostal Christian university for Australia, Paul Oslington was Professor of Economics at the Australian Catholic University and Associate Professor of Economics at UNSW. His PhD in Economics were completed at the University of Sydney, and Doctor of Theology through the University of Divinity, Melbourne. His books include Oxford Handbook of Economics and Christianity (OUP), Political Economy as Natural Theology: Smith, Malthus and their Followers (Routledge) and he is currently working on a monograph commissioned by Harvard University Press on the history of economic thinking in the Christian tradition. In 2022 Professor Oslington is a Visiting Fellow in the Humanities Research Centre at ANU.