1st Edition

David Hume and Adam Smith A Japanese Perspective

By Tatsuya Sakamoto Copyright 2021
    144 Pages
    by Routledge

    This book brings together a significant body of work by Tatsuya Sakamoto, a leading Japanese
    scholar of the history of social and economic thought, showcasing his major contributions to the study of David Hume, Adam Smith, and the Scottish Enlightenment.

    One of Sakamoto's persistent interests is in both philosophy and economics, which is of much importance for Hume scholars. Many "Humeans" has been interested in Hume's economic thought, although the latter has often been discussed separately from his philosophy. Sakamoto has attempted to grasp Hume’s social philosophy under the concept of "Hume's philosophical economics" or his "system of manners". Sakamoto has also contributed to Hume's biographical research, such as the dating of Hume's manuscript and the discovery of an additional proof of his anonymous review of Smith's Theory of Moral Sentiments. Sakamoto's extensive knowledge and interest covers Adam Smith as well as Francis Hutcheson, with special focus on the genesis of economics and the development of moral theory in the Scottish Enlightenment. Also, Sakamoto has exhibited his lifelong interest in the intersection between the West and the East in modern intellectual history and the final section of the book explores how Smith's ideas have influenced Japanese intellectuals since the early Meiji period.

    This book will be of great interest to scholars and students of the history of economic thought, Hume studies, and intellectual history more broadly.

    Part I: Hume’s Economic Thought in Historical Contexts

    1. Hume’s Philosophical Economics

    2. Hume’s Political Economy as a System of Manners

    3. Hume’s "Early Memoranda" and the Making of His Political Economy

    4. Hume’s Economic Theory

    5. The Historical Contexts of Hume’s Economic Thought

    6. Anonymous Writings of David Hume

    Part II: Hume and Smith in Japan and the West

    7. Adam Smith’s Dialogue with Rousseau and Hume, Yoshihiko Uchida and the Birth of the Wealth of Nations

    8. Adam Smith’s "Sympathy" in Modern Japanese Perspectives

    9. Adam Smith and Yukichi Fukuzawa: Between Sympathy and Independence/ Self-Respect

    10. A Personal Recollection: Hume and Smith in Japan and the West

    Biography

    Tatsuya Sakamoto, Professor of Economics, Keio University, Japan

    "This excellent book brings together the major contributions to the study of David Hume, Adam Smith, and the Scottish Enlightenment by Tatsuya Sakamoto, a leading Japanese scholar of the history of social and economic thought."

    Estrella Trincado, History of Political Economy

     

    "This excellent book brings together the major contributions to the study of David Hume, Adam Smith, and the Scottish Enlightenment by Tatsuya Sakamoto, a leading Japanese scholar of the history of social and economic thought. Sakamoto has studied the connections between the intellectual history of the East and the West, and, in the final section of this book, he explores how Smith’s ideas have influenced Japanese intellectuals since the early Meiji period."

    -Estrella Trincado, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, HOPE reviews