a. The question of virtue is intimately linked with sentiment ■ In The Theory of Moral Sentiment, Smith is trying to show us that our moral ideas and actions are a product of our very nature as social creatures. It compares this social psychology with reason as to which is a better guide for an individual’s moral actions and favours this social psychology and argues that us being social creatures, is our main drive to moral actions rather than our reason. (Adam Smith Institute, n.d.) ■ Human beings are prudent, wise and sensible therefore we have a natural tendency to look after ourselves and do something for our own benefit. However, despite humans being self-indulgent, Smith argues that humans have the capacity to be sympathetic of others leading us to virtuousness and morality. ■ Humans are endowed with a natural sympathy. For example, when something unfortunate happens to somebody and causes them distress, we would reflect their feelings and feel bad, or if they are happy, we would feel happy for them. However, Smith’s argue that the level of feelings are not always par with each other or may never be. (Fleischacker, 2017) ■ Sympathy works both ways, one who feels more strongly about something would indulge in self-restraint in order to be in line with one who has less intense feelings. It is this process of mutual emotional adjustment that arises to virtue: the virtues of self-restraint, in that we restrain ourselves from expressing our full feelings of joy or grief in thoughts of others or, the virtues of compassion and humanity as we continually strive to curb our feelings to be able to feel the joy and the sufferings of others to bring them in line with them. (Darwall, 1998) ■ As we progress from childhood to adulthood, we learn what is and is not acceptable to society and other people. We don’t always do something out of our own will or just because we want to even if it will result in personal gain. This is because we are compelled to do so by our innate nature of sympathy. This shows that it is not always reason that drive us to do something moral but our sympathy. Therefore, our sense of morality develops overtime, is shaped by the society and the people around us which also stems from our social nature. Although human’s sympathetic nature is limited according to Smith in such as way that it prevents us to do something evil or immoral rather than compel us to do virtuous deeds. (Smith, 1759) ■ Smith provides us with two kinds of normative guides to action and distinguishes them: rules and virtues. Moral rules are based on our reactions to specific instances when we tell ourselves that we would not do something like that which prevent us from committing heinous crimes such as murder, rape, and theft which are also condemned in a just society. These moral rules are important to justice, and are essential for a society to survive. However, virtue requires more than simply following moral rules. Our dispositions need to be reconstruct in order for our own sentiments to be in line with the sentiments of the ‘detached spectator’ (our guardian of correct behaviour). This way, even without constraining ourselves to rules, we can also allow ourselves to be shaped and molded into human beings with proper gratitude, kindness, courage, patience and endurance. This is Justice to Smith. However, if people fail to return a good deed, they are considered uncharitable and ungrateful but we do not force them to do good deed but only to abide and obey the rules of justice. ■ Virtue, prudence, justice and beneficence are important for a society to survive regardless of our self-interest. We still have to live alongside others without doing them harm. ■ According to Smith, sentiments are flexible and can be subjected to change according to our aspirations or the instructions of the impartial spectator. Sentiments are not natural reactions that can be neither correct or incorrect. Humans are social beings who aspire to be worthy of approval, and that aspiration belongs to our sentiments, and we have both motivation and reason to change our sentiments if they hinder us from this aspiration. (Fleischacker, 2017) b. Sympathy and imagination make a person a social being ■ In the theory of Moral Sentiments, Smith provides us with a description of sympathy which he describes as arising when we imagine how we would feel in the circumstances of others. It is not the same as others would describe it as “actually” feeling the emotion of others but more of imagining ourselves and what we would feel if we were put in that kind of situation. Therefore to Smith, humans are generally less sensitive to the actual feelings or the real situation of the person but more sensitive to the idea of how we would feel if we, ourselves are put in the situation of others. For example, we are able to sympathize with poor people not because of what they are going through but because we feel their sufferings when we imagine ourselves in their position. (Brown, 1994) ■ Sympathy to Smith is not a “contagion” account of sympathy but rather a “projective” account. This explains our feeling of sympathy to the ill infants and or the insane who do not experience the suffering we feel on their behalf. Therefore, sympathizing does not necessarily mean that we feel the same as the other person in that situation but rather it opens the possibility that our feelings may not often match with the feelings s/he has. Therefore, it means that to some extent they will never match, so imagining ourselves in that kind of situation will always lack the vividness of actually experiencing it. (Brown, 1994) ■ Imagination is essential to the production of the idea of another one’s feelings. The degree to which we sympathize is proportional to the degree of vividness in our observation or the description of the event. Therefore one of the factors that affect the extent of our sympathy is the vividness of the condition of another person. ■ The difference between imagining the situation and actually experiencing it is important to Smith because it is this idea that drives us to share our feelings of others as closely as possible. This means that we make constant efforts to imagine ourselves in that situation and to adjust our feelings to those people who are actually in that particular situation and to adjust our feelings accordingly to the extent in which it is acceptable for spectators like us who are not in that situation to feel. (Darwall, 1998) ■ Human beings are autonomous meaning they are in control of their own lives. They are independent beings who may interact more successfully or less successfully. What they feel and what they think are what makes them social beings. Morality, therefore is not something we have to calculate but rather is natural and innate to us as social beings. The extent of our morality is only dependent on our internalization of the detached or impartial spectator, our guide in moral evaluations that enables us to observe and be critical of our behaviour and those of others. (Campbell, 1971) ■ Punishments and rewards have an important social function. If actions are benefitting to society, we approve and reward these acts, and we disapprove and punish acts that harms society. An invisible hand is guiding over us to promote continued existence of our species and our society. (Adam Smith Institute, n.d.) c. Private interest for common benefit ■ According to Smith, people tend to interact more successfully if they are in a society with economic freedom, meaning they can own lands, start their own businesses without depending on the government. Because humans have the natural tendency to do something for the benefit of themselves, with freedom and without hindrances to do so he would continually direct his/her resources to better uses. Through this, individuals continually seek to better their conditions. Ultimately, this will not only result in the betterment of their own selves but will also advantage others. For example, if people have economic freedom, then they are also free to own private businesses which in turn provide job opportunities for others. This idea is sound as long as there is no abuse and exploitation by business owners to employees. ■ As said over and over, humans often indulge in things for their own personal gains. Smith’s famous analogy for his thesis that individuals, if left alone, have the ability to improve and develop oneself for their greatest good and also for the betterment and benefit of all. The people are “the invisible hand” that will improve the society for the better, not the government, although the government still has a part in the society only to provide a stable social framework within which “the uniform, constant, and uninterrupted effort of every man to better his condition” is advocated to people. (Smith, 1759) d. Advantages and limitations of Adam Smith’s theory ■ Smith’s approach yields moral judgments closer to those we already normally have and considers the complexity and richness of the subjects of virtue. For Smith, people transformed themselves for the better as a result of social pressures but ultimately carried out by the individual himself or herself for their own development. Just like Thomas Hobbes whose idea of virtue and righteousness stems from our natural feelings of pity but unlike Augustine who believes that language is a factor or our source of moral evaluation that enables us to stand apart and criticize our society. To Smith, our source of moral evaluation or “impartial spectator” starts as a product and expression of society but once internalized becomes our guide to morality. Therefore our moral actions are a product of socialization ■ However, Smith’s theory of moral evaluations suggests that the impartial spectator develops within us as part of our efforts to align our feelings with those around us. He states that the “chief part of human happiness” comes from our consciousness that we are “beloved” (Smith, 1759), but this is not possible unless what we feel, what we say or what we do meet with other people’s approval. To Smith, this mutual sympathy is what drives us to morality. The problem with this idea is that it does not take into account the state and conditions of the society. Just because it meets with the society’s approval does not necessarily mean that it is right and just. For example, if sentiments of dislike toward poor people, or black people, or homosexuals are prevalent in our society, then there is every reason expect that people in the society will build an impartial spectator within us that share those sentiments of dislike towards those people. 2. Third Theme: a. Capital accumulation is Adam Smith’s theory in which a country’s future income depends on. It is around this idea in which economic development revolves. According to Smith, “any increase in capital stock in a country generally leads to more than proportionate increase in output on account of continually growing division of labour” (Smith, 1776). This means that he believes that more investment in improved productive processes will ultimately lead to creation of more wealth in the future. Capital stock consists of goods for the maintenance of productive workers and goods for helping the workers in their productive activities. b. Adam Smith drew a fine line between non capital and fixed capital distinguishing them from each other. Non capital goods refer to goods that are useful directly and immediately to the owner whereas fixed capital goods are goods that are directly used in production process, without changing hands. This capital consists of all the means necessary for production. According to Smith, capital accumulation is increased by “parsimony” and decreased by “prodigality” and misconduct. This means that being stingy and less frugal will result in higher capital accumulation as capital increases by unwillingness to spend money or use resources. c. Adam Smith also believed in the existence of wage funds. He believed that wages tend to equal the amount necessary for the sustenance of labourers. However, if the total wages become increasingly higher than the amount necessary to sustain labourers then the labor force will increase, competition for employment will become more intense thus resulting in wages being in line with the sustenance level. Thus, Smith believed that, under stationary conditions, wage rate falls to the minimum level, whereas in periods of fast capital accumulation, they rise above this level. d. According to Smith, as a country develops, its capital stock also expands. This means that more investments are being made by capitalists. The rate of investments are proportional to the rate of profit. As the rate of investments increases, the rate of profit declines. This is because the increased in investments lead to more competitions among investors. Therefore, these capitalists investors raise the bar, become more competitive in order to surpass the others and they do this by increasing wages and thus lowering their profits. e. Increase in prosperity, progress and population result in the fall of the rate of interest and the increase in capital. Due to the decrease in interest rate, money lenders will lend more to earn more interest to sustain their previous lifestyle. (Debasish, n.d.) f. Adam also believed that prosperity, progress and development of a country are a result of this capital accumulation therefore the country that focuses on growing capital, managing it well and protecting it will be the one to prosper and develop. 3. Fourth Theme a. People tend to pay more for goods and services that are scarce, limited and rare to find. This is shown through the existence of products that are limited editions which are often more expensive than normal regular ones. Though, these goods are the most sought after by the upper class and the middle class. Therefore, producers invest more money to produce them because they gain more profit in supplying them. b. When glut or oversupply of goods occurs, this results in reduction of prices as competition arises thus, producers accumulate less profits. Therefore, being self-interested capitalists, these producers switch the usage of their capital and build enterprise elsewhere where they will profit more. c. The existence of free trade and competition allow for the system to be automatic. However, when the government grants aid or assistance to favoured products, they are actually allowing monopolies to occur, Monopolies can charge higher prices, restrict supply, and those firms with monopsony power can pay lower wages to workers. (Pettinger, T., n.d.) d. This is relevant in Philippines today because of the passing of the TRAIN law by the administration. This law increases excise taxes on certain goods such as petroleum oil, sweetened goods, beverages, coal, and other basic commodities. (Philippine Primer, 2018) This increases the burden on the poor as the cost of transportation and foods are greatly increased. The administration aimed to use the money for building infrastructures but not for social services such as affordable medical facilities and housing. The increase of taxes only benefit big and booming businesses and corporations. With this, the rich gets richer while the poor gets poorer. (Carao, 2018) e. To alleviate poverty was on Smith’s goal according to his book The Wealth of Nations. He stated that great wealth of a few is beneficial for the whole society. The activities of the filthy rich actually creates job and a more productive environment for the middle and lower class. However, economic inequality distorts people’s sympathy which leads them to imitate the very rich and neglect the poor. (Smith, 1776) f. Another key point that Smith made is that people generally find it easier to empathise with joy than sorrow which means they feel more for the rich ones. But, growing admiration for the rich is not morally good as the rich tend to be innately vicious and they do not care as the people still admire them. Their money puts them in a place wherein they don’t have to behave properly to be admired. The pursuit of richness pulls people away from their happiness as happiness consists largely of tranquility. People aim for great wealth for the attention it brings, the vanity. (Smith, 1776)