Abstract

Neven Leddy

Adam Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments in 1759, 1790 and 1976

This paper is an expository analysis of the origins of the Raphael and Macfie’s 1976 critical edition of the Theory of Moral Sentiments.  Drawing on material in the archives and special collections at Glasgow University, including the lecture notes of, and correspondence between, the editors, this paper unfolds in three parts. The first and most significant concerns the editor’s introduction, in which it is revealed that Macfie was the driving force behind the ‘Stoicization thesis’ in the TMS.  The second part is an investigation of the institutional and disciplinary context from which the 1967 edition emerged.  In closing, I briefly discuss the legacy of the Raphael/Macfie edition.