A Comparative Research On The Conscience View Of Adam Smith And Rousseau

Both the theories of Adam Smith and Rousseau came from Age of Enlightenmentand were under the influence of Hume’s Sympathy theory.In Adam Smith’s conscienceview, sympathy is not only the emotional foundation of moral judgement but also abasis of individual conscience. The Impartial Spectator is a visualized concept ofmoral judgement behavior. Based on the sympathy among individuals andtransportational consideration, moral rules are eventually set. Conscience is combinedwith individuals and therefore it is able to make a judgement on one’s manners. InRousseau’s conscience view, what he stressed was that self-love reflected on otherindividuals, showing concerns about other’s bitterness and pain, while sympathy is themotivation of conscience, using the inner moral rules which are called by Rousseau asthe voice of the Heaven as the basic standard, so as to guide one’s behavior. On thebasic analysis on their conscience view, the distinction on the theory can be seenbetween Smith and Rousseau in the paper, which lies in understanding the origin ofconscience, explaining the function of conscience and judging the result of conscience.By comparison, we can easily find that the conscience view has a positive influence onforming individual virtue and promoting the social prosperity. At the same time, theemotional principle in both of their conscience view is also able to help analyze thereasons behind the demoralization and strengthen the emotional education to innovatethe current education on conscience cultivation.With the gradually deepening of reform and opening up, market economydominated the utilitarian value pursuit is playing a dissolving role of traditional values,which also affects our education. Paying attention to an education of knowledge andskills but making light of an education of social and human values, only increases thevicious development of this kind of situation.Consequently, rementioning this issue ofconscience view is beneficial to people’s moral behavior. The positive factors in theirconscience view will surely make a great difference to the reconstruction of conscience view and the education cause in China.