Walsh explains that if we revisit the classics, we will better understand why a series of simplifications have been taken throughout history and why they are so important in our textbooks today.
The rest goes into detail about Adam Smith’s early life to explain his train of thought and his mentality in writing “The Wealth of Nations.” First there are stories of his concentration which led to his absentmindedness. One such story was of him going out for a walk so he could think. He left the house in his nighttime attire and didn’t stop walking for fifteen miles. His friend Alexander Carlyle said he explained things “with the utmost Philosophical Ingenuity.”
At the age of 14 he attended the University of Glasgow where thinking grew past Aristotelian physics and it was no longer acceptable to explain things by saying, “it is in their nature.” It was now necessary to explain why things happened. Smith then attended Oxford, which he hated. He hated it because the institution was still caught up in these “obsolete prejudices" of things just happening.
A for Bob.
ReplyDeleteTeaching macroeconomics is hard sometimes because students aren't asked "why" in other classes very often. That's all we do ... and it kills crammers and memorizers.