Exploring ‘Epistemologies of Reading’ Using Adam Smith’s ‘Invisible Hand'

Abstract

This thesis demonstrates the inherent and inalienable role that a reader’s epistemological commitments play in their reading of historical concepts. To make this argument, I examine the plethora of different readings of Adam Smith’s ‘invisible hand’. We see in these readings an illustration of a trend ubiquitous throughout academia: the production of a historical lineage for an idea or theory through the process of reading and then invoking a historical predecessor. Readings of the ‘invisible hand’ from 1759 to 2017 are examined and the epistemological commitments of their authors are shown to shape and condition them, in other words, I identify what I call ‘Epistemologies of Reading’. The term ‘Epistemologies of Reading’ denotes the phenomenon of how an individual’s conception of knowledge, what they believe constitutes valid knowledge and how this can be attained and measured, impacts upon their reading process. Relatedly, an individual’s ‘Epistemology of Reading’ is simply the specific way in which their epistemology impacts upon their reading. The thesis proceeds in three steps. I begin by identifying the various readings of the ‘invisible hand’ that have occurred since Smith’s first use of the phrase in Theory of Moral Sentiments, published in 1759. I then group these into seven ideal-type readings on the basis of their shared characteristics. In a second step, I identify the epistemological frameworks that shape and condition these readings, using an intertextual, symptomatic approach. In a final step, I employ the work of Quentin Skinner to perform a theoretically grounded evaluation of these types and their associated epistemological commitments. This project is underpinned by a conceptual framework comprised of the approaches of Karl Mannheim, Reinhart Koselleck and Quentin Skinner: combined, these scholars provide a conceptual toolbox with which I have been able to understand and articulate the existence of different ‘Epistemologies of Readings’ of the ‘invisible hand’. In undertaking this research, my thesis contributes to two bodies of literature. Firstly, my identification of ‘Epistemologies of Reading’ represents a contribution to the literature on methods of intellectual history – in particular, the work of Quentin Skinner and Mark Bevir. I add to their discussions relating to extracting meaning from a text, specifically through accessing an author’s ‘mental world’ or ‘web of beliefs’. Secondly, my focus on Adam Smith’s ‘invisible hand, and my unpacking of the numerous readings of this phrase, represents my contribution to the body of contemporary revisionist literature, as these scholars focus specifically on revising mainstream interpretations of Smith. This microstudy of economic knowledge formation demonstrates the decisive role played by epistemological frameworks in the reading process. As a consequence of this, I make the normative claim that to adequately and comprehensively understand an individual’s reading of a historical figure or their work, one must incorporate an epistemological analysis, understanding it not as an independent activity but rather as being epistemologically conditioned.