Episode 3 – Adam Smith with Ryan Hanley

On today’s show, I talk with Ryan Patrick Hanley, the author of Our Great Purpose: Adam Smith on Living a Better Life. Adam Smith was a great scholar and writer who has much to share about how to achieve the life well-lived. Smith’s two great works, The Wealth of Nations (1776) and Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) are classics, but they are also long and can be difficult reading at times. That’s where Ryan Hanley comes in. Professor Hanley translates Smith’s writing for a more modern reading and applies Smith’s teachings to our world today.

What You’ll Learn:

• Adam Smith’s advice for achieving the Good Life
• Why most people seek wealth and fame when they should seek wisdom and virtue
• The importance of love in a happy life
• Why it’s more important to give love than to receive it
• What steps we can take to get more out of life
• Why Smith is still relevant today, and how we can apply his teachings  

Connect with Ryan Hanley

• Ryan Patrick Hanley’s Our Great Purpose: Adam Smith on Living a Better Life
• Q&A: Ryan Hanley on Adam Smith
• Dennis Rasmussen’s The Infidel and the Professor

Connect with Sean Murray