Skip to content
Home/ Sophie de Grouchy's Letters on Sympathy: A Critical Engagement with Adam Smith's the Theory of Moral
Sophie de Grouchy's Letters on Sympathy: A Critical Engagement with Adam Smith's the Theory of Moral

Sophie de Grouchy's Letters on Sympathy: A Critical Engagement with Adam Smith's the Theory of Moral

No customer reviews yet ISBN 9780190637095 Oxford University Press, USA

Adam Smith, in his The Theory of Moral Sentiments, largely left his readers to develop his argument's full implications. Many philosophers famously did so, including Mary Wollstonecraft, Thomas Paine, and John Millar, among others, but less known are Sophie de Grouchy's own contributions, presented here alone in translation. Grouchy (1764-1822) published her Letters on Sympathy in 1798 together with her French translation of The Theory of Moral Sentiments. While Grouchy's Letters mainly engage critically with Smith's philosophical analysis of sympathy, they offer valuable perspectives and original thoughts about the relationship of emotional and moral development to legal, economic, and political reform. In particular, Grouchy sought to understand how the mechanisms of sympathy could help the development of new social and political institutions after the revolution. Her Letters further contain profound reflections on the dangers of demagoguery, the nature of tragedy, and the roles of love and friendship.

Though ostensibly a commentary on Smith, the Letters stand in their own right as significant and original contributions to political philosophy. This new translation by Sandrine Bergès of a text by a forgotten female philosopher illuminates new inroads to Enlightenment and feminist thought and reveals insights that were far ahead of their time. The volume includes a critical introduction, explanatory notes, and a glossary of terms to provide critical and historical analysis for the novice reader.

About the author

Product details

BrandOxford University Press, USA
Pub dateJun 14, 2019
ISBN-100190637099
ISBN-139780190637095
Pages208
LanguageEnglish
Dimensions8.1 × 5.4 × 0.6 in
Weight1 lb
Last updated 2026-04-10 01:21
$54.06
In stock soon — order now to reserve your copy
Delivery by Monday, September 14, 2026
Qty
Sign in to Add to Saved list
Free delivery on orders over $35.
15-day returns. Any reason.
Secure checkout. We never store card details.

Readers who bought this also bought

More from Individual Philosophers
See all
Oxford Handbook of American and British Women Philosophers in the Nineteenth Century
<em>The Oxford Handbook of American and British Women Philosophers in the Nineteenth Century</em> disrupts the widespread impression that there were no women philosophers in this period. Building on feminist histories of philosophy that cover other eras, this volume includes chapters on a wide range of women philosophers: those who wrote explicitly philosophical texts for academic audiences, others who philosophized in novels or pamphlets, and still others who philosophized through journalism or activist writings. Through fifty newly commissioned chapters, it examines the philosophical thought of individual women, including women of color, as well as chronicling women's contributions to philosophical movements such as Romanticism, Utilitarianism, Idealism, and Positivism. It also traces the philosophical arguments women used to contribute to topics in social philosophy such as socialism, feminism, abolitionism, and the philosophy of education. It outlines the history of writing and publishing in the nineteenth century, showing that circumstances were more hospitable to women authors during this time than is often assumed. It clarifies ways in which race and class affected women's philosophizing and analyzes the influence of women philosophers on their male contemporaries. <br>By chronicling this wealth of women's philosophy, this handbook corrects the philosophical record and enriches our understanding of philosophy. If we assume there are no women philosophers in the nineteenth century, we will not look for them&#x3b; if we do not look for them, they will remain obscure, limiting our understanding of what philosophy is and can be.
$145.14