E-Book Overview
Adam Ferguson (1723-1816) was a major figure of the Scottish Enlightenment whose thought was, in many respects, original and distinctive. This book is a study of his ideas and of the intellectual forces that shaped them. Though somewhat overlooked in the nineteenth century, Ferguson was rescued from obscurity in the first half of the twentieth century by scholars interested in the origins of sociology and early critiques of modernity. Ferguson’s interest in the mechanics of social life and especially social change led him to many groundbreaking insights. In fact, he is sometimes identified as the 'Father of Modern Sociology'. In addition to exploring whether or not he merits this title, this study examines the whole of Ferguson’s thought as a system and includes his moral and faculty psychology, historiography, theology, politics and social science. Ferguson is distinguished by his deep appreciation of the complexity of the human condition; his study of society is based on the belief that it is not only reason, but the unseen, unplanned, sub-rational and visceral forces that keep the human universe in motion. Ferguson’s appreciation of this fact, and his ability to make social science of it, is his major achievement.
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THE PASSIONATE SOCIETY
ARCHIVES INTERNATIONALES D’HISTOIRE DES IDÉES INTERNATIONAL ARCHIVES OF THE HISTORY OF IDEAS
191
THE PASSIONATE SOCIETY The Social, Political and Moral Thought of Adam Ferguson By
Lisa Hill
Founding Directors: P. Dibon† (Paris) and R.H. Popkin† (Washington University, St. Louis & UCLA)
Director: Sarah Hutton (Middlesex University, United Kingdom) Associate-Directors: J.E. Force (Lexington); J.C. Laursen (Riverside) Editorial Board: M.J.B. Allen (Los Angeles); J.R. Armogathe (Paris); A. Gabbey (New York); T. Gregory (Rome); J. Henry (Edinburgh); J.D. North (Oxford); J. Popkin (Lexington); G.A.J. Rogers (Keele); Th. Verbeek (Utrecht)
The Passionate Society The Social, Political and Moral Thought of Adam Ferguson
By
Lisa Hill University of Adelaide, Australia
A C.I.P. Catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN-10 ISBN-13 ISBN-10 ISBN-13
1-4020-3889-5 (HB) 978-1-4020-3889-1 (HB) 1-4020-3890-9 (e-book) 978-1-4020-3890-7 (e-book)
Published by Springer, P.O. Box 17, 3300 AA Dordrecht, The Netherlands. www.springer.com
Printed on acid-free paper
All Rights Reserved © 2006 Springer No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Printed in the Netherlands.
CONTENTS
Legend
vii
Acknowledgements
ix
Dedication
xi
1. Introduction: The Passionate Society
1
2. Reading Ferguson
29
3. Ferguson’s Theology/Ontology
43
4. Method and Historiography
57
5. Ferguson’s Faculty and Moral Psychology
75
6. Ferguson’s “Invisible Hand”
101
7. Ferguson’s Early Conflict Theory
123
8. Habit
139
9. The Environment
149
10. Corruption and Problems of Modernity
161
11. Progress and Decline
193
12. Ferguson’s Conservatism
215
13. Conclusion
233
Bibliography
237
INDEX
271
LEGEND
Essay: An Essay on the History of Civil Society. P.I. and P.II.: Principle