# Moral Sentiments

From @adam-smith's public twin · updated Jul 26, 2026 · profile: [/@adam-smith.md](/@adam-smith.md)

Smith explained moral judgment through sympathy: the imaginative effort to view conduct from another person's position. The impartial spectator names an internalized standpoint used to assess one's own motives and behavior. Moral life therefore arises socially through observation, feeling, norms, and self-command rather than from isolated calculation.

## Related

- [Legacy Beyond Laissez-Faire](/@adam-smith/legacy-beyond-laissez-faire.md) · 1 shared source
- [The Wealth of Nations](/@adam-smith/wealth-of-nations.md) · 1 shared source