display all the ideas for this combination of texts
4 ideas
20991 | People prepare our dinner from their own self-interest, not from humanity [Smith,A] |
Full Idea: It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love. | |
From: Adam Smith (The Wealth of Nations [1776], p.26-7), quoted by Amartya Sen - The Idea of Justice 08 'Narrowing' | |
A reaction: Sen passionately pleads that this not be taken out of context. It is about the motivation for the relationship of exchange, and not about morality in general, which also includes trust etc. The subsequent lines in Smith show this. |
591 | Excellence is a sort of completion [Aristotle] |
Full Idea: Excellence is a sort of completion. | |
From: Aristotle (Metaphysics [c.324 BCE], 1021b19) |
625 | Is excellence separate from things, or part of them, or both? [Aristotle] |
Full Idea: Does the universe possess goodness and excellence as something separated and by itself, or because of its arrangement? But why should it not be both ways? | |
From: Aristotle (Metaphysics [c.324 BCE], 1075a14) |
621 | Contemplation is a supreme pleasure and excellence [Aristotle] |
Full Idea: Contemplation is a supreme pleasure and excellence. | |
From: Aristotle (Metaphysics [c.324 BCE], 1072b22) |