What is the role of the impartial spectator?
28). The function of the impartial spectator is to assess a situation based on the potential acquired sympathy of others. To do this, the subject imagines him/herself as a spectator to an event in which his/her action may be assessed by others.
What was Adam Smith’s beliefs?
Smith wanted people to practice thrift, hard work, and enlightened self-interest. He thought the practice of enlightened self-interest was natural for the majority of people. In his famous example, a butcher does not supply meat based on good-hearted intentions, but because he profits by selling meat.
How did Adam Smith view society?
Smith never uses the term “capitalism;” it does not enter into widespread use until the late nineteenth century. Instead, he uses “commercial society,” a phrase that emphasizes his belief that the economic is only one component of the human condition. For Smith, the market is a mechanism of morality and social support.
What are the two main constituents of a satisfied life according to Mill?
The main constituents of a satisfied life appear to be two, either of which by itself is often found sufficient for the purpose: tranquillity, and excitement.
What is moral compass person?
noun. an internalized set of values and objectives that guide a person with regard to ethical behavior and decision-making: a rebellious teenager without a moral compass.
Was Adam Smith in laissez faire?
laissez-faire, (French: “allow to do”) policy of minimum governmental interference in the economic affairs of individuals and society. The policy of laissez-faire received strong support in classical economics as it developed in Great Britain under the influence of the philosopher and economist Adam Smith.
What is the only thing that is desirable for its own sake according to Mill?
(vi) Happiness is the only thing desired for its own sake (and not for the sake of something else). Other things — such as virtue, health, music, money, and power — can come to be desired for their own sakes, but then they are desired as parts of happiness.
What was the purpose of the impartial spectator?
The impartial spectator is an imagined ‘man within the breast’ whose approbation or disapproval makes up our awareness of the nature of our own conduct. Smith is concerned to give an explanation of the voice of conscience, without departing totally from the sentimentalist and naturalistic tradition of Scottish moral philosophy.
Why are we both agents and spectators in the spectator?
While for Rousseau (the first author we read in the course) this interest in and dependence on the opinions of others is responsible for all of our unhappiness, Smith builds a very impressive moral edifice on this foundation. We are, he says, both agents and spectators.
Can an impartial spectator replace a judging God?
An impartial spectator that purports to replace a judging God with a (mere) construct, and yet relies on the original cultural force of the deity for its plausibility, ultimately undermines itself.