Inspired by his lectures on rhetoric and by game theory, this book
provides a new interpretation of Adam Smith's system of thought. It
highlights its coherence through the identification of three reasoning
routines and a meta-reasoning routine throughout his work on languages,
rhetoric, moral sentiments, self-command, and the nature and causes of
the wealth of nations. The identification of these reasoning routines
allows the authors to uncover a hitherto poorly understood deep
structure of Smith's work and to explain its main characteristics. How
these routines emerged in Smith's early research on the principles of
the human mind is also traced.
This book sheds new light on Adam Smith and his work, highlighting his
sophisticated understanding of strategic interaction in all things
rhetorical, moral, and economic. It will be relevant to students and
researchers interested in the history of ideas, the history of economic
thought, game theory, Enlightenment studies, and rhetoric.