----------------- HES POSTING ----------------- I also tend to view the passage from TMS that Michael Perelman quotes as further evidence, together with some passages in the first few pages of WN, that Smith may have thought that different social stages produce a different kind of human nature. But instead of citing my own recent dissertation on Adam Smith, which largely avoids dealing with Smith's views on human nature, this list ought to know about and may benefit from attention to Lauren Brubaker's dissertation on Adam Smith to be submitted to the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago next month. This has an excellent and subtle chapter on Smith's views on nature and human nature. Cheers! Eric Schliesser ------------ FOOTER TO HES POSTING ------------ For information, send the message "info HES" to [log in to unmask]