Psychoanalytic Studies of the Work of Adam Smith: Towards a Theory of Moral Development and Social Relations

219 Pages·2017·2.01 MB·English

by  Sule Ozler

Psychoanalytic Studies of the
Work of Adam Smith
Psychoanalytic Studies of the Work of Adam Smith blends the rich intellectual herit-
age of the hermeneutic tradition with the methods and concepts of psychoa-
nalysis, in order to examine the seminal works of Adam Smith. This is the first
book on Smith to analyze the works of the ground-breaking moral theorist
and founding father of economics from a psychoanalytic perspective, whilst
also examining the human capacities and skills that are necessary to put Smith’s
ideas into practice.
Starting with a detailed discussion of the psychological difficulties that
afflicted Smith, Özler and Gabrinetti examine the influence that Smith’s life
had on the ideas that are found in his major works. The authors explore the
sympathetic process in Smith’s The Theory of Moral Sentiments (TMS) from an
intersubjectivist perspective and use ideas from developmental psychology to
argue that sympathy leads to morality. This book contains a thorough analy-
sis of the defenses that are used to create Smith’s moral system in the TMS
and explores how Smith’s ideas were precursors to concepts later developed
by Freud. The authors show that Smith’s attitude toward women was at best
ambivalent and consider the reciprocal interaction between markets and moral-
ity from an evolutionary psychology perspective.
Covering an impressive range of topics, this book will appeal to academics
and postgraduate students with an interest in psychoanalysis, moral philosophy,
history of thought and the social sciences. The book should also be of interest
to more advanced undergraduate students.
S¸ule Özler is Associate Professor of Economics at UCLA, and a research psy-
choanalyst at the New Center for Psychoanalysis. She also maintains a private
practice. Her research interests include psychoanalytic examination of philo-
sophical, history of thought and history of economic thought texts.
Paul Gabrinetti is a member of the C. G. Jung Institute of Los Angeles and
a former Professor of Clinical Psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute. He
maintains a private practice, and his research interests include the use of the
analytic psychologies in human and historical proceedings, and the role of myth
in psychological change.
Psychoanalytic Explorations
Books in this series:
The Heart of Man’s Destiny
Lacanian psychoanalysis and early Reformation thought
Herman Westerink
Wish-fulfilment in Philosophy and Psychoanalysis
The tyranny of desire
Tamas Pataki
Environmental Melancholia
Psychoanalytic dimensions of engagement
Renee Lertzman
Psychoanalytic Treatment in Adults
A longitudinal study of change
Marian Cogan and John H. Porcerelli
The Unconscious
A bridge between psychoanalysis and cognitive neuroscience
Edited by Mark Solms and Marianne Leuzinger-Bohleber
Psychoanalytic Studies of the Work of Adam Smith
Towards a Theory of Moral Development and Social Relations
S¸ule Özler and Paul Gabrinetti
Psychoanalytic Studies of the
Work of Adam Smith
Towards a Theory of Moral
Development and Social Relations
S¸ule Özler and Paul Gabrinetti
First published 2018
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2018 S¸ule Özler and Paul Gabrinetti
The right of S¸ule Özler and Paul Gabrinetti to be identified as
authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance
with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted
or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from
the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British
Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN: 978-1-138-95562-2 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-66620-4 (ebk)
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To our families

Contents
Abbreviations ix
Acknowledgments x
1 Introduction 1
2 An intersubjective interpretation of sympathy 10
3 Sympathy, empathy and evidence from developmental
psychology 33
4 The impartial spectator, conscience and morality 52
5 The role of the Deity in Smith’s moral system 67
6 A known world: An analysis of defenses in Adam Smith’s
The Theory of Moral Sentiments 77
7 Defenses and morality: Adam Smith, Sigmund Freud and
contemporary psychoanalysis 99
8 An evolutionary psychological and adaptive defenses view
of relations between markets and morality 120
9 On dependency 136
10 On friendship 156
viii Contents
11 A Jungian interpretation of the place of women in
Smith’s works 172
12 Conclusions 199
Index 204
Abbreviations
TMS: The theory of moral sentiments. 2009. K. Haakonssen (ed). Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
WN: The wealth of nations. 1981. R. H. Campbell, and A. S. Skinner (ed.)
Indianapolis: Liberty Fund.
LJ: Lecture on jurisprudence. 1978. R. L. Meek, D. D. Raphael, P. G. Stein (ed).
Indianapolis: Liberty Fund.