Adam Smith As Theologian

Adam Smith was a Scottish philosopher who wrote about economics. He was influenced by Calvinism, Continental natural law theory, Stoic philosophy, and the Newtonian tradition of scientific natural theology. However, 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? In this volume, a team of distinguished contributors consider Smith's work in relation to its Scottish Enlightenment religious background, and offer stimulating theological interpretations of his account of fallible human nature, his providential account of markets, and his invisible hand metaphor. Adam Smith as Theologian is a pioneering study which will alter our view of Smith and open up new lines of thinking about contemporary economics.

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? In this volume a team of distinguished contributors consider Smith's work in relation to its Scottish Enlightenment religious background, and offer stimulating theological interpretations of his account of fallible human nature, his providential account of markets, and his invisible hand metaphor. Adam Smith as Theologian it is a pioneering study which will alter our view of Smith and open up new lines of thinking about contemporary economics. Review: The book succeeds wonderfully in placing Smith in context, and in showing that the religious language he employed was not unique to him, but was pervasive in the era in which he wrote and lived. -Chad Flanders, St. Louis University, USA