ABSTRACT
Adam Smith’s approach to uncovering general principles of order and the conditions under which that order changes is evident throughout his lesser-known works as well, from his essay on the formation of languages to his Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles-Lettres. The incentives to act according to the general principles of morality arise from our desire for social approval, to be seen as worthy of the fellow-feeling of others, to seek peace of mind and our own self-approbation. Smith assumes that, all else constant, this is the mechanism at work that determines how the general rules of morality arise—not necessarily what the general rules are. Smith has a simple narrative of how a set of people arrives at a language equilibrium, but it is questionable and fails to explain how language equilibrium qua complete language emerges from this process. Finally, this chapter discusses the implications our framework has for understanding Smith’s political theory and his contributions to social science more generally.
