Alexander's Reviews > The Theory of Moral Sentiments

Adam Smith is a curious figure in the history of thought; economists don't read him because they view him as a philosopher, but philosophers don't read him because they view him as an economist. This curious dichotomy is represented in the Theory of Moral Sentiments, Smith's work on moral virtue. In many ways, Smith's work is a return to the "virtue theory" school of moral philosophy best represented in the ancient tradition by Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics.

Theory of Moral Sentiments is very readable (the edition I read was the Glasgow edition published by Liberty Fund) and well-annotated. As an attempt to reconcile a theory based on virtue with living in a capitalist society, the TMS is fairly unique in ethical philosophy and well worth reading.