Summary
Why We Blame Objects and Praise Intentions
The Theory of Moral Sentiments by Adam Smith
Smith explores a curious aspect of human nature: why we get mad at the door we walk into or feel attached to objects that serve us well. He reveals that our emotions of gratitude and resentment follow predictable patterns. We naturally respond to anything that causes us pleasure or pain, even inanimate objects. A child kicks the toy that trips them, sailors feel affection for the plank that saved their life, and we curse the computer that crashes. But Smith argues that true satisfaction from these emotions requires three things: the object must cause pleasure or pain, must be capable of feeling, and must have acted with intention. This is why revenge against a person feels more complete than breaking the object that hurt us - only people can understand they're being punished and why. Smith shows how this explains why we judge people partly based on outcomes, not just intentions. A well-meaning person who accidentally causes harm receives some blame, while someone with selfish motives who accidentally helps gets some credit. This reveals how fortune and luck influence our moral judgments, even when we know intentions matter more. Understanding this pattern helps us recognize when our emotional responses are reasonable versus when we're displacing feelings onto inappropriate targets. Smith's argument in this chapter builds on his central thesis that moral judgments arise not from abstract rules but from the lived experience of sympathy — the imaginative act of placing ourselves in another's situation and feeling what they would feel.
Coming Up in Chapter 23
Smith will examine just how far this influence of fortune extends in shaping our moral judgments, revealing the surprising ways that luck and circumstances affect how we view right and wrong.
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An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
f the causes of this influence of fortune. The causes of pain and pleasure, whatever they are, or however they operate, seem to be the objects, which, in all animals, immediately excite those two passions of gratitude and resentment. They are excited by inanimated, as well as by animated objects. We are angry, for a moment, even at the stone that hurts us. A child beats it, a dog barks at it, a choleric man is apt to curse it. The least reflection, indeed, corrects this sentiment, and we soon become sensible, that what has no feeling is a very improper object of revenge. When the mischief, however, is very great, the object which caused it becomes disagreeable to us ever after, and we take pleasure to burn or destroy it. We should treat, in this manner, the instrument which had accidentally been the cause of the death of a friend, and we should often think ourselves guilty of a sort of inhumanity, if we neglected to vent this absurd sort of vengeance upon it. We conceive, in the same manner, a sort of gratitude for those inanimated objects, which have been the causes of great, or frequent pleasure to us. The sailor, who, as soon as he got ashore, should mend his fire with the plank upon which he had just escaped 149from a shipwreck, would seem to be guilty of an unnatural action. We should expect that he would rather preserve it with care and affection, as a monument that was, in some measure, dear to him. A man grows fond of a snuff-box, of a pen-knife, of a staff which he has long made use of, and conceives something like a real love and affection for them. If he breaks or loses them, he is vexed out of all proportion to the value of the damage. The house which we have long lived in, the tree, whose verdure and shade we have long enjoyed, are both looked upon with a sort of respect that seems due to such benefactors. The decay of the one, or the ruin of the other, affects us with a kind of melancholy, though we should sustain no loss by it. The Dryads and the Lares of the ancients, a sort of genii of trees and houses, were probably first suggested by this sort of affection, which the authors of those superstitions felt for such objects, and which seemed unreasonable, if there was nothing animated about them. But, before any thing can be the proper object of gratitude or resentment, it must not only be the cause of pleasure or pain, it must likewise be capable of feeling them. Without this other quality, those passions cannot vent themselves with any sort of satisfaction upon it. As they are excited by the causes of pleasure and pain, so their gratification consists in retaliating those sensations upon what gave occasion to them; which it is to no purpose to attempt upon what has no sensibility....
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Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road of Misplaced Blame - Why We Attack the Wrong Target
We automatically direct gratitude and resentment toward immediate causes rather than true sources, wasting emotional energy on targets that cannot respond meaningfully.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to recognize when you're blaming the wrong target for your frustration or disappointment.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when you get angry at objects, systems, or bystanders - then trace back to what you're really upset about and whether that target can actually respond to your feelings.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Moral Sentiments
The feelings and emotions that guide our judgments about right and wrong. Smith argues these aren't just random feelings but follow predictable patterns that help societies function.
Modern Usage:
When you feel guilty for cutting in line or angry at someone who cheats, those are moral sentiments at work.
Gratitude and Resentment
The twin emotions Smith sees as fundamental to human nature - we feel grateful toward what helps us and resentful toward what hurts us. These feelings drive most of our social interactions.
Modern Usage:
You remember the coworker who covered your shift when you were sick, and you avoid the one who threw you under the bus in a meeting.
Inanimate Objects as Targets
Smith's observation that we naturally direct emotions toward things that can't feel - kicking the chair we trip over or keeping lucky charms. It shows how our emotional responses work automatically.
Modern Usage:
Yelling at your phone when it freezes or refusing to throw away the shirt you wore to your job interview.
Proper Objects of Revenge
Smith's idea that satisfying revenge requires three things: the target caused harm, can feel pain, and acted intentionally. Without all three, revenge feels incomplete.
Modern Usage:
Why getting back at someone who hurt you on purpose feels more satisfying than just breaking their stuff.
Fortune's Influence on Judgment
How random outcomes affect how we judge people's actions, even when we know intentions matter more. Good luck makes us think better of someone; bad luck makes us blame them partly.
Modern Usage:
The surgeon who loses a patient gets judged harsher than one who saves someone, even if their skills are identical.
Sympathetic Emotion
Smith's term for how we naturally mirror and respond to what we think others are feeling, even when those 'others' are objects that can't actually feel anything.
Modern Usage:
Feeling bad for your car when it won't start, as if it's suffering, or talking to your plants like they can hear you.
Characters in This Chapter
The Child
Example figure
Smith uses the child who beats the object that hurt them to show how natural and immediate our emotional responses are. The child hasn't learned to suppress these instincts yet.
Modern Equivalent:
The toddler having a meltdown
The Dog
Comparative example
Shows that even animals display these same emotional patterns toward inanimate objects, proving these responses are basic to how minds work, not just human reasoning.
Modern Equivalent:
Your pet acting weird around the vacuum cleaner
The Choleric Man
Extreme example
Represents adults who haven't learned to control their immediate emotional responses. Smith shows this as natural but something mature people should recognize and moderate.
Modern Equivalent:
The guy with road rage
The Sailor
Moral example
Smith's example of someone who would naturally feel gratitude toward the plank that saved his life. Shows how we form emotional attachments to objects that help us survive or succeed.
Modern Equivalent:
The athlete who keeps their lucky socks
Key Quotes & Analysis
"We are angry, for a moment, even at the stone that hurts us."
Context: Smith explaining how our emotions automatically target anything that causes us pain
This simple observation reveals something profound about human nature - our emotional responses are immediate and don't distinguish between intentional and accidental harm. It shows emotions happen first, thinking comes second.
In Today's Words:
You stub your toe and want to kick the coffee table back, even though you know it didn't mean to hurt you.
"The least reflection, indeed, corrects this sentiment, and we soon become sensible, that what has no feeling is a very improper object of revenge."
Context: Explaining how reason quickly overrides our initial emotional response to inanimate objects
Smith shows the tension between our automatic emotional responses and our rational understanding. This is key to his whole theory - we have natural reactions, but we can learn to evaluate and adjust them.
In Today's Words:
Once you think about it for a second, you realize getting mad at your computer is pretty pointless.
"We should treat, in this manner, the instrument which had accidentally been the cause of the death of a friend."
Context: Describing how we'd want to destroy an object that caused serious harm, even accidentally
Smith reveals how the severity of consequences affects our emotional responses, regardless of intention. This helps explain why we sometimes blame people for accidents - our emotions respond to outcomes.
In Today's Words:
If something you owned accidentally hurt someone you love, you'd probably want to get rid of it, even though it wasn't really the object's fault.
Thematic Threads
Human Nature
In This Chapter
Smith reveals how our emotional responses follow predictable patterns that often misdirect our energy toward inappropriate targets
Development
Building on earlier observations about sympathy and moral judgment, now examining the mechanics of blame and gratitude
In Your Life:
You might notice yourself getting angry at your phone when you're really frustrated with your workload
Emotional Intelligence
In This Chapter
True satisfaction from moral emotions requires the target to be capable of feeling and intentional action
Development
Introduced here as a framework for understanding when our emotional responses are appropriate versus misdirected
In Your Life:
You feel more satisfied confronting a person who wronged you than breaking the object that caused the problem
Social Expectations
In This Chapter
We judge people partly based on outcomes, not just intentions, because fortune influences our moral assessments
Development
Expanding the earlier theme of how society shapes moral judgment to include the role of luck and consequences
In Your Life:
You might judge someone more harshly when their good intentions lead to bad results, even when you know they meant well
Personal Growth
In This Chapter
Understanding these emotional patterns allows us to redirect our responses more productively
Development
Continuing the theme of self-awareness as a tool for better living and relationships
In Your Life:
You can catch yourself before wasting energy on anger that won't create any positive change
Human Relationships
In This Chapter
Our need for intentional agents to direct our emotions toward explains why interpersonal conflicts feel more significant than impersonal frustrations
Development
Building on earlier chapters about sympathy to explain why human connections satisfy our emotional needs in ways objects cannot
In Your Life:
You find it more meaningful to thank a person who helped you than to feel grateful toward lucky circumstances
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
Why do we get angry at objects that hurt us, like kicking a chair we bumped into or cursing a computer that crashes?
analysis • surface - 2
According to Smith, what three conditions must be met for us to feel truly satisfied when we get revenge or express gratitude?
analysis • medium - 3
Think about your workplace or home life - where do you see people blaming the wrong target when they're frustrated or upset?
application • medium - 4
When you're angry about something, how can you tell whether you're directing that anger at the real cause or just the most convenient target?
application • deep - 5
Why do we judge people partly based on the outcomes they cause, even when we know their intentions matter more?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Track Your Blame Targets
For the next week, notice when you feel frustrated, angry, or grateful. Write down what triggered the feeling and what or who you initially wanted to blame or thank. Then ask yourself: Can this target actually understand my emotion and change their behavior? If not, what's the real source of your feeling?
Consider:
- •Pay attention to moments when you're stressed or tired - that's when we're most likely to misdirect emotions
- •Notice the difference between blaming people who can learn from feedback versus venting at systems or objects
- •Look for patterns in who or what becomes your go-to target when things go wrong
Journaling Prompt
Write about a recent time when you were angry at someone or something. Looking back, were you mad at the right target? What was really bothering you, and how could you have addressed the actual source more effectively?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 23: When Good Intentions Meet Bad Luck
Smith will examine just how far this influence of fortune extends in shaping our moral judgments, revealing the surprising ways that luck and circumstances affect how we view right and wrong.
