Religion and Spirituality: Adam Smith versus J-J Rousseau

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Professor of Philosophy and the Arts, Princeton Theological Seminary-USA

Abstract

Adam Smith and J-J Rousseau share some common ground when it comes to religion, namely that they were born into  and educated in cultural contexts deeply shaped by Reformed Christianity. However, close consideration of their writings on religion reveal marked difference. This paper explores those differences and finds that Rousseau and Smith are radically at odds on this score. Smith has almost nothing to say about personal spirituality, and locates the significance of religion in its social role. Rousseau, on the other hand, accords religion no social role whatever, and finds its value to be purely of a personal and spiritual nature. This difference is not without some contemporary relevance, since it highlights some of the issues surrounding the distinction between ‘religion’ and ‘spirituality’ in modern secularized societies.

Keywords

References

-   The Essential Rousseau, trans Lowell Bair, Penguin Books, 1975 (ER)
-   Rousseau on Philosophy, Morality and Religion, ed Christopher Kelly, Dartmouth College Press, 2007 (RPMR)
-   Adam Smith,(1976) The Theory of Moral Sentiments, ed Raphael and Macfie, Clarendon Press Oxford, (TMS)
-   Adam Smith,  The Wealth of Nations ed Campbell and Skinner, Clarendon Press Oxford, 1979 (WN)
-   Ronald Grimsley, Rousseau and the Religious Quest, Clarendon Press, Oxford 1968
-   Frederick Neuhouser, Rousseau’s Theodicy of Self Love, Oxford University Press, 2008
 
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Journal of Philosophical Investigations
Volume 12, Issue 24 - Serial Number 24
Articles
2018
Pages 83-93

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