The hidden Adam Smith in his alleged theology

Adam Smith as Theologian Edited by Paul Oslington

Price: $95.00 ISBN: 978-0-415-88071-8

• Binding: Hardback
• Published by: Routledge Publication Date: 1st November 2010 Pages: 144

About the Book

Adam Smith wrote in a Scotland where Calvinism, Continental natural law theory, Stoic philosophy, and the Newtonian tradition of scientific natural theology were key to the intellectual lives of his contemporaries. But what impact did these ideas have on Smith’s system? What was Smith’s understanding of nature, divine providence, and theodicy? How was the new discourse of political economy positioned in relation to moral philosophy and theology?

This book considers the theological background and meaning of Smith’s work, opening up a dialogue between economists and theologians. Adam Smith as Theologian gathers a group of eminent economists, historians, philosophers, and theologians to reflect on these questions, examining the extent to which even contemporary economics may contain residues of Smith’s theological mores.

Table of Contents

@content:Introduction: Theological Readings of Smith Paul Oslington Part I: Smith in Context 1. The Influence of Religious Thinking on the Smithian Revolution Benjamin Friedman 2. Smith and Natural Law John Haldane 3. Smith and Augustine Eric Gregory 4. Christian Freedom in Political Economy: The Legacy of John Calvin in Adam Smith Joe Blosser 5. Providence and Adam Smith’s Invisible Hand Paul Oslington Part II: Analysis and Assessment of Adam Smith’s Theology 6. Economics as Theology: Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations Anthony Waterman 7. Adam Smith, Natural Theology, and the Natural Sciences Peter Harrison 8. God and Smith’s Impartial Spectator James Otteson 9. Adam Smith’s Theodicy Brendan Long 10. A Divine Economy? Assessing Adam Smith’s Theology Adrian Pabst 11. Man and Society in Adam Smith’s Natural Morality: The Impartial Spectator, the Man of System, and the Invisible Hand Ross B. Emmett Part III: Contemporary Reflections 12. The Contemporary Relevance of Adam Smith Arjo Klamer 13. The Moral Basis of Capitalism: Reflections on Adam Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments Paul S. Williams

About the Author(s)

Paul Oslington is joint chair in economics and theology at Australian Catholic University. [from Adam Smith's Lost Legacy by Gavin Kennedy]