The Invisible Hand of Jupiter and Adam Smith's Newtonian Method

Cedeplar Working Paper No. 271

31 Pages Posted: 31 Aug 2005

Date Written: July 2005

Abstract

This paper examines Adam Smith's understanding of the philosophy and science, the motivations that lead us to investigate nature and society, and the proper methods of investigation and exposition. The paper also criticizes those authors that interpret Smith's work as an example of the mechanical approach or as a kind of positivism avant la lettre.

Keywords: Adam Smith, rhetoric, methodology, Newtonianism, political economy

JEL Classification: B30, B40

Suggested Citation

Cerqueira, Hugo Eduardo Araujo da Gama, The Invisible Hand of Jupiter and Adam Smith's Newtonian Method (July 2005). Cedeplar Working Paper No. 271, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=789905 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.789905

Hugo Eduardo Araujo da Gama Cerqueira (Contact Author)

Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais ( email )

Av. Antonio Carlos, 6627
Faculdade de Ciências Econômicas
Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais 31270-901
Brazil

HOME PAGE: http://https://docentes.face.ufmg.br/hugo/

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