Rereading Adam Smith's 'theory of history': An alternative perspective of Smith's historising.
Adam Smith is considered as the most influential figure of the Scottish Enlightenment, and an active member of the Scottish Historical School. Naturally, therefore, history, which was a distinctive element of the Scottish Enlightenment, is rendered as a structural feature of his social philosophy an...
| Published in: | Cambridge Journal of Economics Vol. 50; no. 2; pp. 409 - 431 |
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| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Article |
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Oxford University Press / USA
Mar2026
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=192347592&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 192347592 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 0309166X CEC jtl: Cambridge Journal of Economics issn: 0309166X maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Mar2026 vid: 50 iid: 2 pid: 622 pub: Oxford University Press / USA artinfo: ui: 192347592 10.1093/cje/beaf058 ppf: 409 ppct: 22 formats: tig: atl: Rereading Adam Smith's 'theory of history': An alternative perspective of Smith's historising. aug: au: Manioudis, Manolis Meramveliotakis, Giorgos affil: University of Patras, Greece Neapolis University Pafos, Greece su: Smith, Adam, 1723-1790 Economic history Philosophers Social theory Philosophy of history Scientific method Narratives sug: subj: Economic history Philosophers Social theory Philosophy of history Scientific method Narratives Smith, Adam, 1723-1790 keyword: copyrightHolder:Cambridge Political Economy Society copyrightYear:2026 historical narratives inLanguage:en publisher:Oxford University Press sameAs:https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cje/beaf058 Smith stages theory theory of history copyrightHolder:Cambridge Political Economy Society copyrightYear:2026 historical narratives inLanguage:en publisher:Oxford University Press sameAs:https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cje/beaf058 Smith stages theory theory of history ab: Adam Smith is considered as the most influential figure of the Scottish Enlightenment, and an active member of the Scottish Historical School. Naturally, therefore, history, which was a distinctive element of the Scottish Enlightenment, is rendered as a structural feature of his social philosophy and his political economy. Traditionally, much of the study of Smith's 'theory of history', as a distinct intellectual enterprise, is dominated by discussions over Dugald Stewart's 'theoretical or conjectural' mode of explanation. Against this tide, the purpose of this paper is to develop an alternative perspective concerning new lines of inquiry in the understanding of Smith's theory of history. Thus, we attempt to delineate Smith's theory of history by proposing a three-level analytical scheme: namely the methodological, theoretical and narrative level of analysis. The effect of each higher level on the one beneath signifies a process from the more abstract methodological and theoretical reasoning to concrete historical reality. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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