亞當·斯密（1723-1790）：生於蘇格蘭，青年時期就讀於牛津大學。1751年至1764年在格斯哥大學任哲學教授期間，發錶瞭他的第一部著作《道德情操論》，為他在學術界贏得瞭聲譽。他發錶於1776年的《論國民與國傢的財富》使他終於享有榮譽和愛戴。他於1790年去逝。一生未娶，沒有子女。

Adam Smith's Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) lays the foundation for a general system of morals, and is a text of central importance in the history of moral and political thought. It presents a theory of the imagination which Smith derived from David Hume but which encompasses an idea of sympathy that in some ways is more sophisticated than anything in Hume's philosophy. By means of sympathy and the mental construct of an impartial spectator, Smith formulated highly original theories of conscience, moral judgment and the virtues. The enduring legacy of his work is its reconstruction of the Enlightenment idea of a moral, or social, science encompassing both political economy and the theory of law and government. This 2002 volume offers a new edition of the text with clear and helpful notes for the student reader, together with a substantial introduction that sets the work in its philosophical and historical context.