My Way to Adam Smith

Abstract

My inquiry into John Locke's theory on the Law of Nature and Property had led me to recognize the continuity and identity of the ground and subjects between the 17th and 18th century thoughts as the theory of Law and Government. This realization opened the way for me to study the works of Adam Smith, beginning with the demonstration of the fact that the fundamental central subject of the first edition of The Theory of Moral Sentiments was the theory of justice, not prudence or beneficence. Reading “A Note” of Smith's Lectures on Jurisprudence, published in 1978, confirmed my conviction that the main themes of his moral philosophy were Moral Sentimental theorizing on the subjects of the modern natural laws, especially Francis Hutcheson's natural law system. Furthermore, inquiry into the inter-relations between Hutcheson, Hume, Lord Kames and Smith began to help me understand the theological bases of Smith's theory, provided me the key to the real meaning of the System of Natural Liberty in The Wealth of Nations and to recognize a New Adam Smith problem, which is the discrepancy between his teleological or theological assumption and his purely empirical theories.