ADAM SMITH’S LAST TEACHINGS: DIALECTICAL WISDOM

This paper focuses on the teachings and admonitions regarding wisdom found in the sixth edition of Adam Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments (TMS). Following a mind-path marked by the seminal contributions of Glenn Morrow (1923), Donald Winch (1978), and Laurence Dickey (1986), the paper offers an interpretation of the higher moral standard (superior prudence) introduced by Smith in the last edition of TMS, as his response to the socio-economic and cultural changes that took place in Great Britain in the second half of the eighteenth century. Between the first and last editions of TMS the taste for luxury and conspicuous consumption became widespread and contagious both geographically and across ranks. Prudence and other-approbation, sufficient gatekeepers of moral conduct and character in the previous editions of TMS, became progressively less effective in keeping society away from moral deception and in regulating reputation and the distinction of ranks. The paper examines the introduction of superior prudence in the last edition of TMS as Smith’s vision of a dialectical process between external and internal approbation that is capable of transforming individual dependence on social praise into a dialogue between materialistic and moral concerns, which would lead to a progressively wiser, although conflictual, existence.

Siblings as Home Trainers: A Strategy for Teaching Domestic Skills to Children

This article presents an evaluation of the effectiveness of a sibling training procedure designed to prepare nonhandicapped siblings to teach domestic tasks to their younger siblings with handicaps. A multiple baseline design across three sibling pairs was used to assess (a) the acquisition and generalization of the use of an increased prompt sequence and social praise by the nondisabled siblings, (b) the level of independent skill performance by the siblings with handicaps, and (c) the maintenance of skills acquired by both the nonhandicapped child and the sibling with a disability in the absence of the instructor. Results indicated that the nonhandicapped siblings learned to use the prompt sequence proficiently and consistently; the use of social praise was not as consistent. The acquired skills generalized at levels above baseline when teaching a different task and were maintained at varying levels of proficiency in the absence of the instructor. Finally, the independent skill performance of the siblings with handicaps increased as a result of the training. Implications of these results are discussed in terms of the potential use of siblings as instructional agents for individuals with moderate handicaps.