Translation

Grouchy’s eight Letters on Sympathy, written in the early 1790s and published in 1798, alongside her translation of Smith’s The Theory of Moral Sentiments, develop an account of sympathy rooted in physiology, but they have far reaching moral, social, and political consequences. While Grouchy is enthusiastic about Smith’s own account of sympathy, she voices a number of disagreements with his account. Letter V gives a more detailed account of the sort of moral theory that can be derived, from sympathy, one that has elements of consequentialism and virtue ethics. While the first five letters are concerned with the development of morality from the physiological origins of sympathy, the last three are an attempt to apply the theory to social, legal, and political reform within a republican framework. Sympathy, if it is well developed, Grouchy argues, ought to be sufficient to remove extreme inequalities and to prevent crime without having recourse to harsh laws.

Introduction

This introduction to Sophie de Grouchy’s Letters on Sympathy is divided into three chapters. Chapter 1 covers Sophie de Grouchy’s life and times, with a short biography, a discussion of women in the French Revolution, and a study of the texts and concepts that were influences on her work, including a section devoted to the reception of Adam Smith in France. Chapter 2 discusses Grouchy’s work with a special emphasis on the’ relationship of the Letters to Adam Smith’s The Theory of Moral Sentiments—the work to which they are a response—, as well as a discussion of other writings by Grouchy. Chapter 3 touches on three main philosophical themes present in the Letters: political philosophy, with an emphasis on the republican aspect of Grouchy’s thought, her legal philosophy and political economy, and her aesthetics.