Adam Smith’s Historical and Biographical Context

This chapter provides a general summary of the state of the art concerning Smith’s conception of human beings in terms of human nature, mind and the self, highlighting some influential interpretations on the subject, with particular attention to the historical-philosophical and moral–psychological fields. Starting with the Adam Smith Problem, the idea that there is a fundamental contradiction between the self-interested actors of the Wealth of Nations and the sympathetic actors of The Theory of Moral Sentiments, I highlight some examples of Smithian literature after the publication of The Glasgow Edition of the Works and Correspondence of Adam Smith. Beginning with a comparison between the interpretations of K. Haakonessen and D. Winch, I show some of the most important contributions from a historical-philosophical perspective. Finally, I outline the most recent works of Smithian literature, taking into account different theoretical perspectives. In particular, I cite those texts that explicitly frame the problem of human nature, mind and the self in relation to Smith’s conception of harmony between oneself and the others.