The Theory of Moral Sentiments · Chapter
Of the Pleasure of Mutual Sympathy explained
Smith explores the innate human pleasure derived from mutual sympathy—the correspondence of sentiments between individuals.
What happens
Smith explores the innate human pleasure derived from mutual sympathy—the correspondence of sentiments between individuals. He argues that this pleasure cannot be reduced to self-interest, as it is instantaneous and often arises from trivial occasions. Sympathy enlivens joy and alleviates grief, and the desire for sympathy is stronger for painful emotions like grief and resentment than for agreeable ones. The chapter also examines the reciprocal nature of sympathy: we are pleased when we can sympathize with others and hurt when we cannot.
Themes in this chapter
Sympathy as the Foundation of Moral Judgment
The chapter introduces sympathy as a natural principle that grounds moral approval and disapproval, emphasizing the pleasure of mutual fellow-feeling and the pain of its absence.
Self-Love and the Social Order
Smith directly critiques the view that sympathy arises from self-interested considerations, arguing instead that it is an immediate and disinterested source of pleasure and pain.
Key passages
“nothing pleases us more than to observe in other men a fellow-feeling with all the emotions of our own breast; nor are we ever so much shocked as by the appearance of the contrary.”
We derive the greatest pleasure from seeing others share our feelings, and are most distressed when they do not.
Smith states the central thesis of the chapter: mutual sympathy is a primary source of pleasure and its absence a source of pain.
“Sympathy, however, enlivens joy and alleviates grief. It enlivens joy by presenting another source of satisfaction; and it alleviates grief by insinuating into the heart almost the only agreeable sensation which it is at that time capable of receiving.”
Sympathy enhances happiness by adding a new pleasure, and softens sorrow by offering the only comfort the grieving heart can accept.
Smith distinguishes the dual effect of sympathy on different emotions, showing it is not merely a reinforcement of feeling.
“The cruellest insult, on the contrary, which can be offered to the unfortunate, is to appear to make light of their calamities.”
To dismiss or trivialize someone's misfortunes is the worst possible affront to them.
Smith emphasizes the moral weight of failing to sympathize with others' suffering.