Abstract
Cognitive neuroscience is in the midst of what has been called an ‘affective revolution,’ which places empathy at the center of a core set of moral competencies. While empathy has not been without its critics (Bloom, 2013; Prinz, 2011), both the radicals and the reactionaries routinely cite Adam Smith’s The Theory of Moral Sentiments (TMS) as among the revolution’s vanguard. For Smith, justified moral judgment depends on the ability to sympathize — Smith’s term for the empathetic ability to imaginatively project into, or otherwise simulate the emotions of others. The impartial spectator is good at moral evaluation and the accurate assessment of the ‘fitness or propriety’ of another’s sentiments ‘can be found nowhere but in the sympathetic feelings of the impartial and well-informed spectator’ (TMS VII.II.i.49).
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© 2014 Joshua Rust
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Rust, J. (2014). Indulgent Sympathy and the Impartial Spectator. In: Hardwick, D.F., Marsh, L. (eds) Propriety and Prosperity. Archival Insights into the Evolution of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137321053_6
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