道徳感情の腐敗とモラリスト

『道徳感情論』第六版で追加された「道徳感情の腐敗について」の検討

抄録

This study aims to elucidate the significance of the major revision Smith made in Part I of the sixth edition of The Theory of Moral Sentiments; his intention to change Part I, Section III, Chapter III from “Of the Stoical Philosophy” to “Of the Corruption of Our Moral Sentiments,” and the resulting change in his theoretical composition, and other changes in his thinking from the first to the sixth edition. The goal is to comprehend the significance in Smith’s intention to revise, the resulting reformation in theory, and the gradual evolution of his thinking from the first to the sixth edition. First, I clarify the concept of a moralist and the circumstances he refers to as the corruption of moral sentiment following the revision and expansion of The Theory of Moral Sentiments from the first to the sixth edition. Next, we examine the meaning of Smith’s well-known assertion that ‘the road to fortune is often different from the road to virtue,’ and try to understand the exact meaning based on the text. Finally, we examine and identify the reasons for altering the entire section to “Of the Corruption of Our Moral Sentiments” from “Of the Stoical Philosophy.” In the concluding remarks, I argue that the inclusion of “Of the Corruption of Our Moral Sentiments” in the sixth edition does not serve as a “warning” against the “corruption of moral sentiments” clearly reflected the tastes of the middling class about which moralists made such a fuss. It is better to understand that this was due to Smith’s awareness of the coherence of his theory of sympathy in Part I. In other words, we must emphasize the facts; as Smith pointed out in Book V of Wealth of Nations, the problems of oversimplification of workers’ mental attitudes, corruption in the judiciary and politics resulting from extending the division of labor were the pressing matters which the State or the Sovereign had to deal with even after the establishment of ‘obvious and simple system of natural liberty.’