The Origins of Moral Sentiments

In today's New York Times, David Brooks nicely summarizes recent research that suggests that moral rules "emerged from a long history of relationships."  A chief conclusion, as he describes it, is vital: "To learn about morality, you don't rely upon revelation or metaphysics; you observe people as they live."

It's worth noting that Adam Smith arrived at the same conclusion 251 years ago.  In The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759), this brilliant scholar – who, in 1776, published an even more...