ADAM SMITH'S OPTIMISTIC TELEOLOGICAL VIEW OF HISTORY

Adam Smith's four-stage theory provides the framework for his writings on history. The fourth stage is the commercial epoch; the culmination of history in this stage is a key component in the conventional interpretation of Adam Smith as a prophet of commercialism. In two historical case studies Smith shows the capacity of commercial society to regenerate itself. This potent capacity suggests that commercial society is inevitable. At a certain point in time it also overcomes the major obstacles to its permanence. Smith's philosophy of history anticipates the end of history views of Kant and Hegel.Political Economy,

ADAM SMITH'S PESSIMISTIC VIEW OF THE FUTURE OF COMMERCIAL SOCIETY: RHETORIC OR REALITY?

Adam Smith is generally viewed as a great optimist about commerce and commercialism. Consistent with this assessment is the conventional view that Smith believed in progress: he had an optimistic view of history. On the other hand, occasionally over the last thirty years commentators, such as Heilbroner, have suggested that Smith actually had a very pessimistic view of history and the prospects of commercial society. Can we explain Smith's apparent inconsistencies? One solution is that Smith "changed his mind" during his lifetime. Another suggestion, proposed by Muller, is that Heilbroner (and others holding similar views) failed to understand Smith's rhetoric. Muller is correct in suggesting that there is exaggeration in some of Smith's pessimistic statements. Nevertheless, Smith's vision has a darker tincture than Muller acknowledges: much of Smith's pessimism about commercial society remains a reality which cannot be neatly explained away as "rhetoric."International Relations/Trade,

ADAM SMITH'S VIEW OF HISTORY: CONSISTENT OR PARADOXICAL?

The conventional interpretation of Adam Smith is that he is a prophet of commercialism. The liberal capitalist reading of Smith is consistent with the view that history culminates in commercial society. The first part of the article develops this optimistic interpretation of Smith's view of history. Smith implies that commercial society is the end of history because 1) it supplies the ends of nature that he identifies; 2) it is inevitable; and 3) it is permanent. The second part of the article shows that Smith has some dark moments in his writings where he seems to reject completely such teleological notions. In this more civic humanist mood he confesses that commercial society does not supply the ends of nature, nor is it inevitable, nor is it permanent. Both views exist in Smith and the commentator is forced to choose between passages in Smith's work in order to support a particular interpretation of the former's view of history.Political Economy,

THE THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATION OF ADAM SMITH'S WORK

The paper will discuss the theological foundation to Smith's writings. Teleology, final causes and divine design were initially seen as central to understanding Smith's writings. Over time, this view fell out of fashion. In the period after World War II, with the rise of positivism, commentators tended to overlook or downplay this interpretation. In the last decade, or so, teleology has started to be restored to its former position as an essential element in understanding Smith. After spelling out Smith's teleology and his view of final causes, divine design and the ends of nature, we try to explain the Panglossian nature of the 'new theistic view' of Smith. While our view differs somewhat, we agree with the essence of the 'new view' claim: a theological view exists in Smith which underpins his moral and economic theories.Political Economy,

JOHN LOCKE AFTER 300 YEARS

John Locke was a seminal figure in political philosophy and political economy and this year marks the tercentenary of his death. The paper focuses on the classical liberal interpretation of Locke. In this view, Locke defends individualism, natural rights (especially to property) and minimal government. After sketching this interpretation, I will present some extensions and applications of that interpretation. With this background in mind, I then turn to the views of critics who have claimed that Locke's individualism has been exaggerated and that Lockean rights are not absolute (they must be balanced against duties). Then I address the view of those who see Locke as a defender not of minimal government but of a more muscular (albeit limited) government. I then provide a brief conclusion.Political Economy,

OVERCOMING POSITIVISM IN ECONOMICS: AMARTYA SEN'S PROJECT OF INFUSING ETHICS INTO ECONOMICS

Logical Positivism, which arose in philosophy early in the twentieth century, proclaimed the sharp distinction between facts and values. Despite objections at the time, positivism was imported into economics in the 1930s. Over time, objections lessened; economics was transformed and ethical considerations were driven out of its core. In the 1950s, debates about positivism arose within the discipline which had exported it. According to the American philosopher Hilary Putnam, the fact/value distinction is now discredited in philosophy. If that is so, the methodological foundations of contemporary economics are also discredited. In this article I examine Amartya Sen’s moral science of economics. First, I will present his historical account of the connections between economics and ethics. Sen claims that there was a close connection between the two until positivism was imported. Second, I will sketch some of Sen’s ethical objections to modern economics, which is still suffering from positivism. Finally, I will lay out some of his ideas on how economics can be returned to an ethical path. Once the ground has been cleared of positivism, ethics can re-emerge in economics in various ways. One path has been marked out by Sen.Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

A New Framework for Ethics and Economics

This article is devoted to developing a new “ethics and economics” framework. Much of the article consists of a summary of Amartya Sen’s critique of mainstream economics and his constructive alternative. Second, I will spell out my own framework, which expands on that of Sen’s.The framework in this article has six themes taken from Sen. Its foundation is an ethics-related view of motivation. Much of the framework would not make sense without this starting point. Sen is one of the founders of the Capability approach to economics. I have included two themes here in order to clarify his notion of distributive justice: 1) functionings and capabilities; and 2) social achievement. In addition to these central features, Sen also tries to incorporate three other considerations: agency; freedom; and rights. Together, these six items show the considerable pluralism in Sen’s approach to ethics and economics.I have added to this list two themes from my book (Alvey, 2011): “just price” and ethical methodology. Finally, I have added an entirely new theme: global achievement. Overall, I have developed an expanded framework of ethics and economics covering a total of nine themes.The expanded framework embodies pluralism and complexity. It can be used in various ways, including the evaluation of social states, policies, and ideas. I intend to use this expanded framework in the near future to evaluate a major thinker in the history of economic thought: Adam Smith

Proprioception, gait kinematics, and rate of loading during walking: Are they related?

The cyclic nature of walking can lead to repetitive stress and associated complications due to the rate of loading (ROL) experienced by the body at the initial contact of the foot with the ground. An individual’s gait kinematics at initial contact have been suggested to give rise to the ROL, and a repetitive, high ROL may lead to several disorders, including osteoarthritis. Additionally, proprioception, the feedback signaling of limb position and movement, may play a role in how the foot strikes the ground and thus, the ROL. Our goal was to explore the relationship between proprioception, gait kinematics and ROL. Thirty-eight women were recruited for gait analysis, and the gait characteristics 50ms prior to and at initial contact were examined. Two proprioception tests, joint angle reproduction and threshold to detect passive motion were used to examine the subject’s proprioceptive acuity. Our results indicate that individuals with a larger knee angle (i.e., greater extension) 50ms prior to initial contact (IC) experience a higher ROL during gait and have poorer proprioceptive scores. However, it remains unclear whether poor proprioception causes a high ROL or if a high ROL damages the mechanoreceptors involved in proprioception, but the apparent relationship is significant and warrants further investigation