CONTENTS
I.
II. Introduction of The Theory of Moral Sentiments and Part V ……………1 Comments on Of the Influence of Custom and Fashion upon the
Sentiments of Moral Approbation and Disapprobation ……………………1 1 Reasonability and limitation on Part V One ……………………………2 2 My agreement on the Part V Two ………………………………………3 3 Further reflections after reading ………………………………………3 III. Conclusion ………………………………………………………………5 V.
References …………………………………………………………………5
On the Influence of Custom and Fashion upon the Sentiments of
Moral Approbation and Disapprobation
As one of two major great works of Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments should has deserved, actually, higher reputation and more significance than the other, Wealth of Nation, for discussing the fundamental moral concepts and issues, backing up his economic theory, and especially arguing the most important term: Sympathy. Adam Smith, a socialist first, then an economist, donates almost all his life revising this book.
Some German scholars, comparing his two great books, came up with so-called “Adam Smith Problem” saying that there are paradox points of human nature in two books. With deeper comprehension and further studies of Adam Smith and The Theory of Moral Sentiments, an increasingly number of scholars tend to believe that inner sense of value in these two books derives from one source—egoism—the conception that any individual is a self-centered person. Adam Smith holds that, with no doubt, a rational person must be a self-interested one, no matter in economic activities or social and moral activities.
Adam Smith, in Part V of this book, firstly states that how custom and fashion, as principles, influence our notions of beauty and deformity. He believes that custom and fashion can be considered as one source of people’s notions on beauty. When judging an art work or a material of nature is beautiful or not, a person tends to take his custom and social fashion into account. Besides on notion of beauty, custom and fashion also have an impact on our moral sentiment, which deserves more reading and study. Adam Smith begins with a comparison between influences on these two levels. He says the principle imagination on our sense of beauty, very much and delicate, is likely to be changed by habits and education; whereas our sentiments of moral approbation and disapprobation are much more stronger passion, which can not be entirely changed, only partly influenced by 1 I. Introduction of The Theory of Moral Sentiments and Part V
some external factors.
II. Comments on Of the Influence of Custom and Fashion upon the Sentiments of
Moral Approbation and Disapprobation.
1. Reasonability and limitation on Part V One.
In this part, Adam Smith defines the beautiful things as those of which inner connection you are accustomed or you have already get used to. Imagination plays a crucial role in this process, which also an essential word in the whole book.
I think that idea is creative and sensible; at least, I have never read similar viewpoints on beauty before. The author supports his viewpoint by using a large amount of examples in daily life, according to his writing style. Given what he argues on is somehow abstract, when discussing how custom influences on our notion of beauty and deformity, Adam Smith selects maybe the most pervasive examples to prop up his idea. In this part Adam Smith takes dress and furniture as examples to elaborate his argument. The author says a person may find a meaningless and awkwardness in the absence even of a button in a suit that he is familiar with. This is a situation we usually experience in our life so that we can hardly deny its rationality. Hence, we are naturally convinced by him for sound proves that most of us do have the similar feeling in such situation.
Adam Smith attributes the reason of this phenomenon to our customs. Partially, I do agree with Adam Smith’s idea and his discussion, but partially, I do not. From my perspective, this influence occurs in most ordinary man-made materials and art works in his era, when forms or arts were somehow simple and moderate. But when it comes to modern arts, such impact is not so correct. Many of famous great art works created by contemporary masters impress people with marvelous beauty just because of their breaking custom and fashion of common people, instead of corresponding to them. Modern arts, on the one hand, need moderation; on the other hand, demands absolute creation. For example, Picasso draws a picture using most popular color with a fashionable them, his appreciators may find it a beautiful print which makes them comfortable, but that is all, with 2
no more and higher praise. It is Picasso’s creative deviation on shapes and space that impress appreciators and admit him into great masters. Maybe following customs and fashion, Picasso will never reach today’s level. In this situation, custom may produces a negatively harm influence on arts. But it is mostly times limitation, or an inevitable shortcoming because those schools of arts were born almost two hundred years late after Adam Smith’s death.
2. My agreement on the Part V Two
The influence of custom and fashion on our moral approbation and disapprobation is on both sides, different from that on beauty, which is almost optimistic.
From this part, we tend to find a trend that good social custom makes people better, bad makes them worse, which I prefer using a metaphor to summarize: a catalyst of human nature, as Adam Smith put it, “When custom and fashion coincide with the natural principles of right and wrong, they heighten the delicacy of our sentiment, and increase our abhorrence for every thing which approaches to evil” (1759). Many examples are talked by Adam Smith in this part to illustrate the influences of custom and fashion, though, compared with other essential factors, they may be inferior ones.
I totally agree with Adam Smith’s idea that because his elaborated argument by reasonable comparison. He argues his main idea by comparing a well-developed civilization with a non-developed one—full of savage and cruelty: In a society with high civilization resulting to a peaceful and wealthy life, people’s sentiments are mostly occupied by virtues of humane quality; in a crude society the virtue depending on self-commands and control of passion gains its popularity. Thus, people in civilized environment being accustomed to respect human and nature, usually become “frank, open and sincere”; Barbarians, being engaged to control every passion, tend to conceal and dissimulate truth. That is to say, custom and fashion, which play a role as a catalyst, strengthen good virtue in civilized society and aggravate evils in a barbarian society.
3. Further reflections after reading
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After reading this part, I absorbed some classic but still fresh ideas bringing out some reflections.
First of all, there is no point for a person paying too much attention to external beauty. As is concluded by Adam Smith’s discussion on custom and fashion influencing our notion of beauty, people with different customs in different social fashion always have different notions on beauty and deformity. A beauty in one’s eyes may be ugly judging by others, and so is contrary. Imagine how disappointed a young lady is when spending a lot of time making up her to be “attractive”, which accords her own custom on beauty, but doesn’t touch others at all. Imagine a man who is self-abased about his appearance but is praised by others just for his handsome. Beauty, though derives from objectives, is mostly impacted by subjective sentiments. A care-taker of his surface may has more unnecessary troubles.
Secondly, given custom and fashion are so important for a high-civilized society, the authority has a responsibility to make efforts to establish a positive and progressive social custom, or fashion. Also for individual, the mental-health education must be emphasized at the age of adolescence because of possible harmful effects of a bad custom.
In the third place, relating to economics, the influence of custom and fashion upon consumer’s behavior is what comes into my mind but not discussed by Adam Smith in this book. Consumer’s behavior had not been a major academic topic until 1950s. It is possible for us to develop Adam Smith’s ideas on influence of custom and fashion to economics. Since having impact on our beauty judgment, moral sentiment, we tend to believe, custom and fashion also influence our consumption behaviors. It is common sense that if a person is accustomed to buy a certain brand of a product for a long time, he is unlikely to make a change without special reason. In larger concerns, if people in one country get used to some certain products, they probably refuse to purchase those new that they never know. Given this possible risk, new-coming manufacturers have to put locally social fashion into their marketing plan when they want to start a business in a strange 4
area.
III. Conclusion
Though Adam Smith use comparatively a few words on the chosen part, it doesn’t mean custom and fashion are petty in our moral sentiment. After reading chosen part, I state my agreement and comprehensive analysis on what Adam Smith writes. Then I summarize my further reflections into three opinions: do not over take care of appearance, establishment of a positive social fashion is important and custom also has an impact on consumer’s behaviors.
In a word, The Theory of Moral Sentiments is cornerstone of “Moral Philosophy” by Adam Smith. In his academic system, the theory of moral sentiment and economics cannot be separated. Most of us, I think, when recognize his contribution on classic economics should give more praise on The Theory of Moral Sentiments.
IV. References
1. Adam Smith, The theory of moral sentiments. 世界图书出版公司, (2010).
2. 吕孟仁. "对《 道德情操论》 和《 国富论》 关系的理解." 长春大学学报 5 (2001): 016.
3. 晏国祥, and 方征. "论消费者行为研究范式的转向." 外国经济与管理 28.1 (2006): 54-59.
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