Editing Adam Smith (section)

===Formal education===

Smith entered the [[University of Glasgow]] at age 14 and studied moral philosophy under [[Francis Hutcheson (philosopher)|Francis Hutcheson]].<ref name="Bussing-Burks 2003 39"/> Here he developed his passion for the philosophical concepts of [[reason]], civilian [[liberty|liberties]], and [[free speech]]. In 1740, he was the graduate scholar presented to undertake postgraduate studies at [[Balliol College, Oxford]], under the [[Snell Exhibition]].<ref>{{harvnb|Buchan|2006|p=22}}</ref>

Smith considered the teaching at Glasgow to be far superior to that at Oxford, which he found intellectually stifling.<ref name="Bussing-Burks 2003 41">{{harvnb|Bussing-Burks|2003|p=41}}</ref> In Book V, Chapter II of ''The Wealth of Nations'', he wrote: "In the University of Oxford, the greater part of the public professors have, for these many years, given up altogether even the pretence of teaching." Smith is also reported to have complained to friends that Oxford officials once discovered him reading a copy of David Hume's ''[[A Treatise of Human Nature]]'', and they subsequently confiscated his book and punished him severely for reading it.<ref name="rae 1895 5" /><ref name="rae 1895 24">{{harvnb|Rae|1895|p=24}}</ref><ref name="Buchholz 1999 12">{{harvnb|Buchholz|1999|p=12}}</ref> According to William Robert Scott, "The Oxford of [Smith's] time gave little if any help towards what was to be his lifework."<ref>{{cite book |title=Introductory Economics |publisher=New Age Publishers |isbn=81-224-1830-9 |page=4|year= 2006 }}</ref> Nevertheless, he took the opportunity while at Oxford to teach himself several subjects by reading many books from the shelves of the large [[Bodleian Library]].<ref name="rae 1895 22">{{harvnb|Rae|1895|p=22}}</ref> When Smith was not studying on his own, his time at Oxford was not a happy one, according to his letters.<ref name="rae 1895 24–25">{{harvnb|Rae|1895|pp=24–25}}</ref> Near the end of his time there, he began suffering from shaking fits, probably the symptoms of a nervous breakdown.<ref name="Bussing-Burks 2003 42">{{harvnb|Bussing-Burks|2003|p=42}}</ref> He left Oxford University in 1746, before his scholarship ended.<ref name="Bussing-Burks 2003 42" /><ref>{{harvnb|Buchan|2006|p=29}}</ref>

In Book V of ''The Wealth of Nations'', Smith comments on the low quality of instruction and the meager intellectual activity at [[List of universities in England|English universities]], when compared to their Scottish counterparts. He attributes this both to the rich endowments of the colleges at Oxford and [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]], which made the income of professors independent of their ability to attract students, and to the fact that distinguished [[Intellectual#Man of Letters|men of letters]] could make an even more comfortable living as ministers of the [[Church of England]].<ref name="Buchholz 1999 12" />

[[File:Adam Smith's mother.JPG|thumb|upright=0.75|Portrait of Smith's mother, Margaret Douglas]]