The Philosophy of Adam Smith:
A conference to commemorate the 250th anniversary of 
The Theory of Moral Sentiments

January 6-8, 2009
Balliol College, Oxford

Organised by the International Adam Smith Society and The Adam Smith Review

Although Adam Smith is better known now for his economics, in his own time it was his first book, The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759), that established his reputation. Just as scholarly work on Smith has challenged the free market appropriation of Smith’s Wealth of Nations, so it has also come to appreciate the importance of Smith’s moral philosophy for his overall intellectual project. This conference, to be held at the college Smith himself attended from 1740-46, and at the beginning of the year marking the 250th anniversary of the publication of The Theory of Moral Sentiments, will provide an opportunity to re-evaluate the significance of Smith’s moral philosophy and moral psychology, the relationship between them and his other writings on economics, politics, jurisprudence, history, and rhetoric and belles lettres, and the relevance of his thought to current research in these areas.  Papers on any of these topics, and from any discipline, are welcome. 
Plenary speakers will include:
Stephen Darwall (Professor of Philosophy, University of Michigan)
Charles Griswold (Professor of Philosophy, Boston University)
Knud Haakonssen (Professor of Intellectual History, University of Sussex)
David Raphael (Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, Imperial College)
Emma Rothschild (Fellow, King’s College Cambridge;  Visiting Professor of History, Harvard)
Geoffrey Sayre-McCord (Professor of Philosophy, University of North Carolina)
 
Please send detailed abstracts (500-800 words) prepared for blind review by September 15, 2007 to:
Samuel Fleischacker
Philosophy Department (M/C 267)
601 South Morgan Street
University of Illinois at Chicago
Chicago, IL 60607-7114
USA

Or email them (as attachments, prepared for blind review) to: sfleisch@uic.edu

Participants will be notified that their proposals have been accepted for the conference by December 1, 2007. 

Publication
A selection of conference papers will be published in a special commemorative volume of The Adam Smith Review (Routledge), entitled The Philosophy of Adam Smith, edited by Vivienne Brown and Sam Fleischacker.  To meet the publication schedule of the volume, participants who would like their papers to be considered for it should submit complete drafts to the editors by September 15, 2008.  Only new, previously unpublished work will be included in the volume.