Moral Sentiments and the Sense of Justice in Smith and Rawls

This article offers a cross-reading of Smith and Rawls in order to highlight the fundamental role of sympathy, moral sentiments and the idea of reciprocity they contain in Rawls's theory of justice as fairness, and more specifically in the possibility of ensuring the stability of the ideal, well-ordered society through the development of an appropriate sense of justice. I study their respective moral anthropologies and their analyses of guilt, resentment, indignation and envy, highlighting the fundamental role these moral sentiments play in social cooperation.