Bibliographic Information

On human nature

Francis Hutcheson ; edited by Thomas Mautner

Cambridge University Press, 1993

  • : hard

Other Title

Two texts on human nature

Francis Hutcheson, Two texts on human nature

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Note

On spine: Francis Hutcheson, Two texts on human nature

Bibliography: p. [169]-190

Includes index

Contents of Works
  • Reflections on our common systems of morality
  • On the social nature of man
Description and Table of Contents

Description

Francis Hutcheson (1694-1746) 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 reductionist view, common then as now, that morality is nothing more than the prudent pursuit of self-interest, arguing in favour of a theory of a moral sense. The two texts presented here are the most eloquent expressions of this theory. The Reflections on our Common Systems of Morality insists on the connection between moral philosophy and moral improvement, and was a preview of his first major work, the Inquiry of 1725. The lecture On the Social Nature of Man, arguing against the psychological egoism of Hobbes, appears here in an English translation for the first time. Thomas Mautner's introduction and editorial apparatus provide a mass of new information, helping to give the reader a sense of the intellectual climate in which Hutcheson lived.

Table of Contents

  • Introduction
  • Reflections on the Common Systems of Morality
  • Inaugural Lecture on the Social Nature of Man
  • Appendices
  • Bibliography.

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