The Man Who Once Roamed Free. Seeking the Connection between Adam Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments and the Epic of Gilgamesh

Khusrav Arifov

Master's thesis

Abstract:

Researching for this paper began by me reading Adam Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments,1 and once I did, I immediately came to realize that the subject-matter it contains is much more abstract than I had originally imagined. So I had to alter the course in which I intended to steer the discussion in this paper, and as I continued to ponder on the matter, that is when I happened to stumble upon the idea that perhaps I could link this book to the oldest text known to man, none other than the Epic of Gilgamesh. At face value, indeed it seems like there is absolutely no relation between those two texts, and concerning the majority of the theory and the epic, that is in fact true, but there are still certain facets to them that can be used to bridge these two texts: one classical, and the other ancient. That is thus exactly what will be explored in this paper, and that bridge shall be completed in the very last section of the paper, and hence the objective of this thesis will be to find the means to do so. But first, before focusing on the structure of the bridge, it would be unfair and of little sense to fail to observe the two bodies of land that are being juxtaposed in this paper, and hence the first section of this paper will intend to serve as an exposition of Adam Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments,2 the second section will then introduce and present the Epic of Gilgamesh, and the final part will tie them together and also conclude.

Abstract:

Researching for this paper began by me reading Adam Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments,1 and once I did, I immediately came to realize that the subject-matter it contains is much more abstract than I had originally imagined. So I had to alter the course in which I intended to steer the discussion in this paper, and as I continued to ponder on the matter, that is when I happened to stumble upon the idea that perhaps I could link this book to the oldest text known to man, none other than the Epic of Gilgamesh. At face value, indeed it seems like there is absolutely no relation between those two texts, and concerning the majority of the theory and the epic, that is in fact true, but there are still certain facets to them that can be used to bridge these two texts: one classical, and the other ancient. That is thus exactly what will be explored in this paper, and that bridge shall be completed in the very last section of the paper, and hence the objective of this thesis will be to find the means to do so. But first, before focusing on the structure of the bridge, it would be unfair and of little sense to fail to observe the two bodies of land that are being juxtaposed in this paper, and hence the first section of this paper will intend to serve as an exposition of Adam Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments,2 the second section will then introduce and present the Epic of Gilgamesh, and the final part will tie them together and also conclude.

Keywords

cultural rites, cultural values, Uzbek nation

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 12. 5. 2023

Thesis defence

• Date of defence: 7. 6. 2023
• Supervisor: prof. PhDr. Karel Müller, Ph.D.
• Reader: MUDr. Roman Joch

CEVRO Institute

Master programme / field:
Philosophy, Politics, Economics / Philosophy, Politics, Economics