Document Type : research

Author

• Mohammad Reza Ghaemi Nik

Assistant Professor, Department of Social Sciences, Razavi University of Islamic Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

Abstract

Adam Smith, in The Theory of Moral Sentiments and The Wealth of Nations, presents a novel approach to the intersection of moral philosophy and economics. By emphasizing concepts such as empathy, the imaginative faculty, and the impartial spectator, Smith lays the philosophical foundations of his economic thought. Unlike Aristotle and Aquinas, who distinguish sharply between human passions and reason or the divine, Smith and his predecessor David Hume locate the basis of morality within the realm of imagination and sympathy. Although this perspective rejects the notion of intrinsic moral good and evil, it offers a distinctive ethical framework. John Milbank’s theological critique of Smith’s secular moral philosophy, alongside Mulla Sadra’s concept of imaginal abstraction (تجرد مثالی) within his Transcendent Wisdom (حکمت متعالیه), provides a potential solution to overcome this divide. Mulla Sadra’s imaginal abstraction is accessible to all humans and preserves the idea of inherent moral values. This integrated approach can serve as a moral foundation for Islamic economics. Nonetheless, developing a practical operational model based on these philosophical insights requires further research.
 

Keywords

• Adam Smith
• Theory of Moral Sentiments
• Wealth of Nations
• imaginal abstraction
• Islamic economics