Members' Business — S6M-08819 Michelle Thomson: Tercentenary of Adam Smith

That the Parliament celebrates the tercentenary of Adam Smith’s birth; commends his work in a breadth of areas including engineering, economics, chemistry, political economy, philosophy, literature and medicine; considers that Smith’s ideas were of global importance and continue to have a huge impact on society today; notes the role that Scottish universities played in exchanging the ideas across many disciplines; believes that Smith was a leading figure in the Scottish Enlightenment during the 18th century; understands that the Scottish Enlightenment was an outpouring of intellectual and scientific principles by Scottish theorists, with their work gaining global recognition in asserting the importance of human reasoning, including empirical methods of enquiry; commends the ideas of Smith and believes that their impact on a breadth of areas continues to be globally significant 300 years after his birth; recognises the works of Adam Smith and what it sees as their continued significance to date, and notes the view that it is important to continue to celebrate the life and works of influential Scottish figures.