Editing Autoscopic Rumination (section)

===Adam Smith’s Impartial Spectator===

Philosopher and moral theorist [[Adam Smith]] argued in ''[https://www.econtalk.org/klein-on-the-theory-of-moral-sentiments-episode-1-an-overview/ The Theory of Moral Sentiments]''  that humans naturally sympathize with one another and seek the approval of others. According to Smith, we form moral judgments by matching our own sentiments with those of others, and we internalize the viewpoint of an “impartial spectator” to evaluate actions and feelings. However, when sentiments conflict, Smith held that we must move beyond literally embodied observers to develop an ideal standard by which to judge both others’ sentiments and our own. This ideal is constructed inductively and allows us to imagine a “perfect impartial spectator” capable of arbitrating conflicts between the views of actual observers and the self. 

While both the impartial spectator and autoscopic rumination involve an internal self-observing perspective, they differ in function. Smith’s impartial spectator serves a regulatory, normative role, enabling moral evaluation and restraint. Autoscopic rumination similarly creates an internal observing layer, but this layer does not moderate or arbitrate emotions. Instead it amplifies repetitive, distressing thought patterns by mentally situating the thinker as both experiencer and detached observer, often without the stabilizing, evaluative standards that Smith’s ideal spectator provides.