A ‚Happy Commerce‘ of the Passions?

Reflections on Smithean Sympathy as a Resource for Justice

Dr. Millicent Churcher (Berlin)

Ein Vortrag im Rahmen des Philosophischen Kolloquiums

Datum: 10. November 2021
Zeit: 18.15 Uhr bis 20.00 Uhr
Ort: Universität Luzern, Hörsaal 4.B51 und Zoom

Adam Smith recognized that if human capacities for imagination and feeling are to support ethical and just societies, they must be harnessed, educated, and refined through individual practice, as well as through the careful design of cultural, economic, and political institutions. This arrangement assists to maintain what Smith refers to as a “happy commerce” of the passions, broadly conceived in terms of the circulation and exchange of passions that reflect and embed relations of mutual respect. This talk outlines Smith’s account of the relationship between fellow-feeling, imagination, virtue, and institutions, and reflects critically on the value of his early modern sentimentalist philosophy for addressing deep-seated forms of injustice in the present.

Flyer

https://unilu.zoom.us/j/63611016699?pwd=eWF2UHE5bkQ1LzUyMDNCbDRkYjh4Zz09
Meeting-ID: 636 1101 6699
Kenncode: 109077