Inspired especially by moral philosophers of the eighteenth century, the Just Sentiments collection explores central ideas in classical liberalism including political economy, history, psychology, theology, the arts, and more, with a view to enlarging and improving our appreciation of traditions of liberty and virtue.
The phrase “just sentiments” highlights the willful and cognitive aspect of sentiment, which is emphasized in Smith’s ethics. The sentiment that someone experiences is influenced by actions he took prior to the experience. And, during the experience, or immediately after it, the person can reflect on his having felt the sentiment. He asks himself: Should I affirm the sentiment? Should I revise it? Should I reject it? The experiencing of a sentiment can be seen as a matter of the will and thus of acting justly. “Just sentiments” suggests one’s responsibility for one’s sentiments.
But the relationship between action and sentiment can also be turned around. “Just Sentiments” may suggest that sentiment causes action. Maybe a person’s conduct is just sentiments. Maybe his learning, his reason, and his conclusions are just sentiments.
The relationship, then, seems to run in both directions—action to sentiment and sentiment to action. One could set up an action-sentiment spiral, for a journey that proceeds one loop to the next. Any sentiment can be asked: How do you justify your existence? And any action can be rendered as just an event in a history of sentiments.
Smith encourages us to actively shape our sentiments, through social interaction, education, and sympathy with persons whom we look up to. Across his discourses he seeks to enhance and ennoble the sentiments of his readers. Even his social science may be seen in service to that end—for instance, his political economy instructs us toward more just sentiments on matters of public policy.
“The right defence against false sentiments is to inculcate just sentiments.”
Editors:
Dan Klein, Professor of Economics and JIN Chair at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University
Erik Matson, Senior Research Fellow, Mercatus Center at George Mason University
