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    How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life: An Unexpected Guide to Human Nature and Happiness
    How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life: An Unexpected Guide to Human Nature and Happiness
    How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life: An Unexpected Guide to Human Nature and Happiness
    Audiobook5 hours

    How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life: An Unexpected Guide to Human Nature and Happiness

    Written by Russ Roberts

    Narrated by Don Hagen

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    A forgotten book by one of history's greatest thinkers reveals the surprising connections between happiness, virtue, fame, and fortune.

    Adam Smith may have become the patron saint of capitalism after he penned his most famous work, The Wealth of Nations. But few people know that when it came to the behavior of individuals-the way we perceive ourselves, the way we treat others, and the decisions we make in pursuit of happiness-the Scottish philosopher had just as much to say. He developed his ideas on human nature in an epic, sprawling work titled The Theory of Moral Sentiments.

    Most economists have never read it, and for most of his life, Russ Roberts was no exception. But when he finally picked up the book by the founder of his field, he realized he'd stumbled upon what might be the greatest self-help book that almost no one has read.

    In How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life, Roberts examines Smith's forgotten masterpiece, and finds a treasure trove of timeless, practical wisdom. Smith's insights into human nature are just as relevant today as they were three hundred years ago. What does it take to be truly happy? Should we pursue fame and fortune or the respect of our friends and family? How can we make the world a better place? Smith's unexpected answers, framed within the rich context of current events, literature, history, and pop culture, are at once profound, counterintuitive, and highly entertaining.

    By reinvigorating Smith's neglected classic, Roberts provides us with an invaluable look at human behavior through the lens of one of history's greatest minds.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAscent Audio
    Release dateNov 1, 2014
    ISBN9781469092430
    How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life: An Unexpected Guide to Human Nature and Happiness

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    Reviews for How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life

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    • 5/5
      Russ Roberts has read and interpreted for you great wisdom of Adam Smith from his book Theory of Moral Sentiments. From these 2 philosophical minds comes the fundamental advice in this book, which is that man wants to be both loved and know that he is worthy of love. Adhering to this principle in every facets of life will help you lead a great life!! Read on..
    • 5/5
      This was a very good book that helps define what it is to lead a good life. Highly recommended.
    • 1/5
      This is all you need to know.

      "To be content, you need to be loved and to be lovely."

      There are two ways to be loved. You can be rich and famous. Or you can be wise and virtuous.

      Choose the second way, Smith counsels, the way of wisdom and virtue.

      Why need Adam Smith when religious traditions give the same response?

      I know -- Secular people would pay attention to what Russ Roberts has to say about Adam Smith.

      However, if response came from any of the religious tradition, it is not palatable.

      Don't read this book, if you have read enough in religious tradition, philosophy.

      Basically, literature from Religious Tradition would offer the same.

      Russ basically repackages it into Secular, shiny book.

      If you want to Analyze Moral Philosophy, dive into Adam Smith's other works.

      If you have never read a book in your life, go ahead.

      Rich & Famous, sounds like lot of trouble and complexity in life.

      Religious Tradition: Hinduism, Islamic, Buddhism, Jain, Christian tradition offer solid content.

      Good luck handling it.

      Overall, I'd say, Not Worth your Time, read religious literature for this

      Deus Vult,
      Gottfried
    • 5/5
      Adam Smith is mostly known for his economics book, "The Wealth of Nations," and those who know of his work "The Theory of Moral Sentiments" usually don't appreciate that it is (as the blurb on Roberts' book says) "the greatest self-help book that almost no one has read."Roberts quotes extensively from Smith, but interprets the 18th-century rhetoric for modern readers, and gives context and subtext to explain Smith's thoughts and admonitions.
    • 2/5
      Interesting take on Adam Smith's book "the Theory of Moral Sentiments". He goes through the various points and uses modern examples. At times too immature but overall a good book.
    • 5/5
      Writers who write after a personal discovery fill their books with a natural energy that makes reading their work a pleasure. That's the case with Russ Roberts' "How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life". Roberts, as economist, describes the moment he finally read Smith's "A Theory of Moral Sentiments"; as the discovery was transformative for him, so also he intends the same for his readers. This book serves as a light and readable introduction Adam Smith's lesser known work on moral philosophy. It is indeed tragically the case that even academics who are aware of Smith as the father of modern economics, and what Marx later derided as capitalism, miss that Smith was indeed a moral philosopher who offered significant and helpful insights into human behaviour. Roberts' work is a step in the direction of correcting that error. Rather than follow Smith's logic, Roberts selects facets of Smith's work which he estimates with meet with modern questions. In that regard he does well. I could note that Robert's understanding of some of the 18th century theological ideas around the sources of nature's design evident in Smith's work should be taken more seriously as theological. In a similar fashion, devotees of Smith, or specialists in ethics, will surely identify Roberts' strategy as missing some feature of Smith's work or another. But this work is best read as a teaser that will lead you deeper, and not a substitute for the real thing and further personal study.