---
entity_slug: human_nature
evaluator: null
evaluated_at: '2026-02-23T05:35:37.490910'
overall_score: 4.2
scores:
- name: definition_precision
  value: 4.0
  max_value: 5.0
  rationale: The definition clearly identifies a specific concept - the universal
    human propensity to truck, barter, and exchange - rather than using vague language.
    It avoids circularity by grounding the concept in observable behavioral tendencies
    that distinguish humans from other animals.
- name: source_grounding
  value: 5.0
  max_value: 5.0
  rationale: This entity is directly and extensively grounded in Smith's actual text
    from Book I, Chapter 2, where he explicitly discusses the propensity to exchange
    as fundamental to human nature. The definition accurately reflects Smith's own
    language and reasoning about this being either an original principle or consequence
    of reason and speech.
- name: domain_placement
  value: 5.0
  max_value: 5.0
  rationale: '"General Theory" is the appropriate domain placement since human nature
    serves as Smith''s foundational assumption underlying all economic behavior and
    organization. This concept operates at the most basic theoretical level, informing
    his entire framework rather than belonging to a specific economic mechanism.'
- name: vsm_relevance
  value: 2.0
  max_value: 5.0
  rationale: This entity is too fundamental and abstract to map naturally to any specific
    VSM system - it represents a basic assumption about human behavior that would
    underlie all systems rather than corresponding to operational, coordination, or
    regulatory functions. It's more of a foundational premise than a systemic component.
- name: explanatory_value
  value: 5.0
  max_value: 5.0
  rationale: This entity provides crucial explanatory power by identifying the fundamental
    mechanism that Smith believes drives economic organization and the division of
    labor. It explains why markets and exchange systems emerge naturally rather than
    merely describing surface economic phenomena.
---

# Evaluation: Human Nature

## definition_precision — 4.0 / 5.0

The definition clearly identifies a specific concept - the universal human propensity to truck, barter, and exchange - rather than using vague language. It avoids circularity by grounding the concept in observable behavioral tendencies that distinguish humans from other animals.

## source_grounding — 5.0 / 5.0

This entity is directly and extensively grounded in Smith's actual text from Book I, Chapter 2, where he explicitly discusses the propensity to exchange as fundamental to human nature. The definition accurately reflects Smith's own language and reasoning about this being either an original principle or consequence of reason and speech.

## domain_placement — 5.0 / 5.0

"General Theory" is the appropriate domain placement since human nature serves as Smith's foundational assumption underlying all economic behavior and organization. This concept operates at the most basic theoretical level, informing his entire framework rather than belonging to a specific economic mechanism.

## vsm_relevance — 2.0 / 5.0

This entity is too fundamental and abstract to map naturally to any specific VSM system - it represents a basic assumption about human behavior that would underlie all systems rather than corresponding to operational, coordination, or regulatory functions. It's more of a foundational premise than a systemic component.

## explanatory_value — 5.0 / 5.0

This entity provides crucial explanatory power by identifying the fundamental mechanism that Smith believes drives economic organization and the division of labor. It explains why markets and exchange systems emerge naturally rather than merely describing surface economic phenomena.
