Teleology is a philosophical term that asserts that nature is the underlying and final cause of existence. Teleology plays a role in Adam Smith’s ideas about the wealth of nations. The nature of the ideas can be argued from a teleological point of view. With regards to division of labor, Adam Smith argues that human beings have a propensity to truck and exchange.
This explains how trade occurs and why nations and individuals become wealthy. From his arguments, it can be drawn that nature dictates the existence of trade. It is in the human mind that we are able to truck goods. In order for trade to be in existence, there is need to first persuade the natural inclination of the human mind. A trader becomes restless when someone tends to differ with them. Therefore, they make every effort to ensure that they be on the same mind.
Tautology is also a philosophical proposition that assumes that if something has a logical implication, then it is actually accurate. However, nothing much is said about the real world. On one hand, the theories and economic ideologies of the Adam smith can be termed to be tautological in nature.
This implies that the theories do not expose anything new about the real world. The things that happen in the world of economics have been in existence, arguably since the beginning of time. They also bound to continue existing because nature is their final cause of existence. Debates on tautology focus on symbols that describe existence of phenomenon. This renders the discussions to varying interpretations. Similarly, the debates about symbols of existence are not comparable to the actual observation of existence.
On the other hand, Adam’s Smith’s ideas on economics can be argued not to be tautological in nature. The underlying reason is the fact that the theories focus on the action of human beings as their finality. These actions contribute to the existence of the world and can be used to develop a better understanding of the world. At the same time, human actions change with time implying that some activities that dictated economic systems in the past may not be relevant in today’s economic systems.
A good example from Adam smith’s ideas is the notion of productive and unproductive labor. At the time when he developed the idea, the service industry was not fully developed to support the economy of a country. It is for this reason that Adam Smith had to classify so many professions as unproductive labor.
The service industry is today known to make significant contribution to the GDP of a country. Ruling out Adam Smith’s theories to be tautological, implies that the theories help to create a better understanding of the world. They basically bring something new to the world.
A disfigured approach that rules out Adam Smith’s ideas from being tautological is the notion that symbols and observations of existence are only tentative at the present. It only takes a matter of time that the observations and the implications of the symbols change.
However, this argument can be countered by the notion that changes in meaning do not imply changes in existence or truth. The issue that the symbols tend to describe remains the same despite the changes in implication. Changes in meaning only occur when people or observers develop different perceptions over time.