Adam Smith (1723-1790)

Student
Professor of Logic
Professor of Moral Philosophy
Lord Rector of the University

Adam Smith entered Glasgow University (founded 1451) at the early - but for the time not unusual - age of fourteen. He studied under some of the leading scholars of the day, especially Francis Hutcheson, the Professor of Moral Philosophy. In 1740, Smith was awarded a Snell Scholarship (still in existence today) to study at Balliol College, Oxford. Later, Smith reported that he found Oxford a far inferior pedagogic institution to his alma mater. After a period of free-lance lecturing, Smith returned to the University, first as Professor of Logic in 1750 and then, two years later, as Professor of Moral Philosophy, a post he held until he forsook academia in 1764.

The seeds of Smith's two great books were sown in his professorial years. "The theory of moral sentiments" appeared in 1759 and drew on his lectures. Although "An inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of nations" was published in 1776, we know, from student notes that have survived, that he had already considered many of its leading themes at Glasgow as he lectured on "those arts which contribute to subsistence, and to the accumulation of property, in producing correspondent movements or alterations in law and government".

In 1787, Smith was elected Rector of the University and, in a letter of thanks, he remarked that he remembers his professorial days as "by far the most useful and therefore as by far the happiest and most honourable period of my life".

The seeks to honour his Enlightenment legacy with independent, original research that impartially advances utility and enhances social happiness or well-being in the Information Age.