Two Texts on Human Nature

by Francis Hutcheson, Thomas Mautner (Editor)

Francis Hutcheson was the first major philosopher of the Scottish Enlightenment, and one of the great thinkers in the history of British moral philosophy. He firmly rejected the view, common then as now, that morality is nothing more than the prudent pursuit of self-interest, arguing in favor of a theory of a moral sense. The two previously inaccessible texts presented here are the most eloquent expressions of this theory. Thomas Mautner's introduction provides a mass of new information on the intellectual context of Hutcheson's work.

212 pages, Hardcover

First published July 29, 1993

About the author

Francis Hutcheson was an Irish philosopher born in Ulster to a family of Scottish Presbyterians who became known as one of the founding fathers of the Scottish Enlightenment. He is remembered for his book A System of Moral Philosophy.

Hutcheson took ideas from John Locke, and he was an important influence on the works of several significant Enlightenment thinkers, including David Hume and Adam Smith.

Reviews

[Dru]

This guy is my great, great, great, etc. grandfather. Seriously.