Adam Smith's Political Philosophy: The Invisible Hand and Spontaneous Order (Routledge Studies in Social and Political Thought)

When Adam Smith published his celebrated writings on economics and moral philosophy he famously referred to the operation of an 'invisible hand'. Adam Smith’s Political Philosophy makes visible this hand by examining its significance in Smith’s political philosophy and relating it to similar concepts used by other philosophers, thus revealing a distinctive approach to social theory that stresses the importance of the unintended consequences of human action. The first book to examine the history of Smith’s political philosophy from this perspective, this work introduces greater conceptual clarity to the discussion of the invisible hand and the related notion of unintended order in the work of Smith, as well as in political theory more generally. By examining the application of spontaneous order ideas in the work of Smith, Hume, Hayek and Popper, this important volume traces similarities in approach, and from these constructs a conceptual, composite model of an invisible hand argument. While setting out a clear framework of the idea of spontaneous order, the book also builds the case for using this as an explanatory social theory, with chapters on its application in the fields of science, moral philosophy, law and government. Book Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 6 Contents......Page 8 Preface......Page 9 Abbreviations......Page 10 1 Spontaneous order in liberal political thought......Page 12 2 The science of man......Page 26 3 The science of morals......Page 45 4 The science of jurisprudence......Page 59 5 The science of political economy......Page 79 6 The evolution of science......Page 108 7 The evolution of morality......Page 129 8 The evolution of law and government......Page 147 9 The evolution of markets......Page 162 10 The invisible hand......Page 175 Notes......Page 180 Bibliography......Page 203 Index......Page 215 "Adam Smith's Political Philosophy makes visible the invisible hand by examining its significance in Smith's political philosophy and relating it to similar concepts used by other philosophers, revealing a distinctive approach to social theory that stresses the significance of the unintended consequences of human action."--BOOK JACKET Spontaneous order and liberal political thought The science of man The science of morals The science of jurisprudence The science of political economy The evolution of science The evolution of morality The evolution of law and government The evolution of markets The invisible hand. Examining the concept of the 'invisible hand' in Adam Smith's political philosophy and relating it to similar concepts in the works of Smith, Hume, Hayek and Popper, this text reveals a distinctive approach to social theory that stresses the unintended consequences of human action Examining the concept of the 'invisble hand' in Adam Smith's political philosophy and relating it to similar concepts used by others, this text reveals a distinctive approach to social theory that stresses the unintended consequences of human action. Examining the concept of the 'invisible hand' in Adam Smith's political philosophy and relating it to similar concepts used by others, this text reveals a distinctive approach to social theory that stresses the unintended consequences of human action