31,113 research outputs found
ADAM SMITH'S OPTIMISTIC TELEOLOGICAL VIEW OF HISTORY
Get PDFAdam Smith's four-stage theory provides the framework for his writings on history. The fourth stage is the commercial epoch; the culmination of history in this stage is a key component in the conventional interpretation of Adam Smith as a prophet of commercialism. In two historical case studies Smith shows the capacity of commercial society to regenerate itself. This potent capacity suggests that commercial society is inevitable. At a certain point in time it also overcomes the major obstacles to its permanence. Smith's philosophy of history anticipates the end of history views of Kant and Hegel.Political Economy,
NA4005 Brian Robinson, interviewed by Adam Lee Cilli
Get PDFNA4005 Brian Robinson, interviewed by Adam Lee Cilli, November 15, 2013, in his his office in South Stevens Hall at the University of Maine, Orono. Robinson talks about the beginnings of his career in archaeology; conducting research in Alaska; his role in the Climate Change Institute; changes in the CCI over the years; the CCI’s contributions to climate science; and the debate taking place outside the scientific community over climate change.
Text: 10 pp. transcript
Recording: mfc_na4005_audio001 58 minutes
Brian Robinson passed away October 27, 2016.
Photo provided by the Climate Change Institute.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mf192/1027/thumbnail.jp
How Might Adam Smith Pay Professors Today?
Get PDFAdam Smith’s proposal for paying professors was intended to induce increased faculty knowledge. If students have imperfect information about what they learn, and universities can only imperfectly measure the input of faculty time in student learning, publications may be used to measure faculty knowledge. If professors’ ability to publish is positively related to their ability to produce student learning, which universities can imperfectly measure, publications may be necessary to attract more able professors. Since research signals faculty knowledge, schools that do not value publications per se could require higher publication standards and pay higher wages than schools that value only publications.
ADAM SMITH'S VIEW OF HISTORY: CONSISTENT OR PARADOXICAL?
Get PDFThe conventional interpretation of Adam Smith is that he is a prophet of commercialism. The liberal capitalist reading of Smith is consistent with the view that history culminates in commercial society. The first part of the article develops this optimistic interpretation of Smith's view of history. Smith implies that commercial society is the end of history because 1) it supplies the ends of nature that he identifies; 2) it is inevitable; and 3) it is permanent. The second part of the article shows that Smith has some dark moments in his writings where he seems to reject completely such teleological notions. In this more civic humanist mood he confesses that commercial society does not supply the ends of nature, nor is it inevitable, nor is it permanent. Both views exist in Smith and the commentator is forced to choose between passages in Smith's work in order to support a particular interpretation of the former's view of history.Political Economy,
Email from Adam Ashcraft Regarding AIG and the Discount Window
Get PDFEmail (9/14/2008 9:31 am)From: Adam Ashcraft To: Jamie McAndrews; cc: Alejandro LaTorre, Arthur Angulo, Beverly Hirtle, Brian Peters, Catherine Voigts, Chris Burke, Hayley Boesky, Jim Mahoney, Meg McConnell, Patricia Mosser, Simon Potter, Til Schuermann, Tobias Adrian, Warren Hrung re: Re: AIG and the discount windo
Adam Smith and Roman Servitudes
Get PDFThis essay is a preprint of an article that appeared at: Tijdschrift voor Rechstsgeschiedenis, 72 (2004), 327–57.This essay discusses Adam Smith historical jurisprudence and his use of Roman law materials in his Lectures on Jurisprudence. It argues that Smith found it difficult to maintain his theory of legal development in the face of a highly developed body of Roman law literature
Upon Daedalian Wings of Paper Money: Adam Smith and the Crisis of 1772
Get PDFAdam Smith advocated laissez faire for most sectors of the economy, but he believed that banking and finance required several forms of regulation including usury laws and the prohibition of small-denomination bank notes. Smith’s support for banking regulation appears to have been a response to the shocks that hit the Scottish banking system during the time that he was composing the Wealth of Nations. The most important was the Crisis of 1772, which has been described as the first modern banking crisis faced by the Bank of England. It resembles the Crisis of 2008 in a number of striking ways. This paper describes the Crisis of 1772, the other shocks that hit the Scottish banking system, and the evolution of Smith’s views on the regulation of banking. It is based on Smith’s writings, the secondary sources, and a quantification of the new issues of Scottish bank notes during Smith’s era.
THE THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATION OF ADAM SMITH'S WORK
Get PDFThe paper will discuss the theological foundation to Smith's writings. Teleology, final causes and divine design were initially seen as central to understanding Smith's writings. Over time, this view fell out of fashion. In the period after World War II, with the rise of positivism, commentators tended to overlook or downplay this interpretation. In the last decade, or so, teleology has started to be restored to its former position as an essential element in understanding Smith. After spelling out Smith's teleology and his view of final causes, divine design and the ends of nature, we try to explain the Panglossian nature of the 'new theistic view' of Smith. While our view differs somewhat, we agree with the essence of the 'new view' claim: a theological view exists in Smith which underpins his moral and economic theories.Political Economy,
Interview. Matthew Joseph with Adam Gussow, musician and author
Get PDFInterview in which Adam Gussow discusses hill country blues musi
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