Machines, Bodies and Invisible Hands : Metaphors of Order and Economic Theory in Adam Smith

What was Adam Smith's intellectual laboratory? How did his economic theory take shape? Were his metaphors of order only residual and ornamental expressions? This book answers these questions by analyzing the formation of the concepts of market and social order in Adam Smith's work, by considering various aspects of his approach. It analyzes how metaphors and pre-analytical concepts influenced Smith's theory. In line with studies that deal with the cognitive role of metaphors in science, this book suggests that in Smith's work metaphors provided a framework, on which basis the theory subsequently developed. Therefore, as such they were part of that intellectual process which made possible the formation of structured concepts. The content and scope of the book permits a more comprehensive interpretation of Smith's thought, in which many aspects of his work are taken into consideration in order to explain a crucial problem for Smith: the nature and causes of social and economic order. The book also shows that in general, formation of theories is a complex process that includes pre-analytical views as non-residual parts of inquiry. Stefano Fiori teaches economics in the Department of Economics and Statistics "Cognetti de Martiis" University of Torino, Italy. His research fields focus on the history of economic thought and on the connection between philosophy, economics, and other social sciences, viewed in historical perspective. His scientific interests include pre-classical and classical economics, Austrian economics, institutional and new institutional economics, economic methodology, and theories of bounded rationality Contents Abbreviations Chapter 1: Introduction References Part I: Machines, Bodies and Invisible Hands Chapter 2: Metaphors as Conceptual Tools 2.1 Metaphors in Philosophy of Science: From Max Black to Thomas S. Kuhn 2.2 Alternative Philosophical Approaches to Metaphors: Donald Davidson, Richard Rorty and John Searle 2.3 From Conceptual Metaphor Theory to Recent Studies 2.4 Adam Smith on Metaphors, Rhetorical Discourse and Analogies References Chapter 3: The Metaphor of the Machine 3.1 Mechanical Metaphors of Order in the Seventeenth Century 3.2 From the Mercantilists’ Balance of Trade to Mandeville’s Notion of Order 3.3 The Metaphor of the Machine and the Beauty of Order in Adam Smith 3.4 Scientific Systems, Language, Workshop and Economic System as Machines 3.5 Further Observations on Smith’s Newtonianism 3.6 Conclusions References Chapter 4: Smith and the Organic Metaphors 4.1 Organic Metaphors in the Seventeenth Century 4.2 Organic and Medical Metaphors in Adam Smith References Chapter 5: The Invisible Hand 5.1 Interpretations of the Invisible Hand 5.2 The Invisible Hand in the History of Astronomy and in the Theory of Moral Sentiments 5.3 Market Society and Unintended Order 5.4 The Invisible Hand in the Wealth of Nations 5.5 Conclusions References Part II: Visible and Invisible Orders: The Secrets of Organization Chapter 6: Paradigms of Order in the Seventeenth Century: Intelligibility as Visibility 6.1 Visibility and Philosophies of Nature in the Scientific Revolution 6.2 Art and (the Intelligibility of) Nature 6.3 Visibility and the “Chain of Being” 6.4 Visibility in Economic Thought 6.5 Conclusions References Chapter 7: The Invisible Order: Imagination, Nature and the Economic Sphere 7.1 Scientific Imagination as a Conceptual Metaphor 7.2 Moral Imagination as a Conceptual Metaphor 7.3 The Two Levels of Natural Order 7.4 The Two Forms of Knowledge 7.5 The Two Dimensions of the Division of Labor 7.6 The Two Dimensions of Prices: Nominal and Real Prices, and Market and Natural Prices 7.7 The Two Dimensions of Productive Labor 7.8 Visibility and Invisibility in Historical Perspective 7.9 Conclusions References Chapter 8: Organization and Invisible Forces in the Life Sciences of the Late Eighteenth Century 8.1 Invisible Principles of Organization of Living Beings 8.2 The Vitalist Approach and the Sciences of Life 8.3 An Epistemological Turn References Part III: Forms and Experiences of Time Chapter 9: Time and Social Order 9.1 Historical Changes, Experiences and Temporal Horizons 9.2 Conceptualizations of Time and Order 9.3 Property and Social Forms of Time 9.4 Expectations and Future-Oriented Behaviors: From the “Prudent Man” to the Individual as Economic Agent 9.5 Division of Labor and Structure of Time 9.6 Self-Interest and Visibility References Chapter 10: Conclusions Bibliographic Note Works of Adam Smith Bibliography Index "What was Adam Smith’s intellectual laboratory? How did his economic theory take shape? Were his metaphors of order only residual and ornamental expressions? This book answers these questions by analyzing the formation of the concepts of market and social order in Adam Smith’s work, by considering various aspects of his approach. It analyzes how metaphors and pre-analytical concepts influenced Smith’s theory. In line with studies that deal with the cognitive role of metaphors in science, this book suggests that in Smith’s work metaphors provided a framework, on which basis the theory subsequently developed. Therefore, as such they were part of that intellectual process which made possible the formation of structured concepts. The content and scope of the book permits a more comprehensive interpretation of Smith’s thought, in which many aspects of his work are taken into consideration in order to explain a crucial problem for Smith: the nature and causes of social and economic order. The book also shows that in general, formation of theories is a complex process that includes pre-analytical views as non-residual parts of inquiry."--Cover page 4