Adam Ferguson

A philosopher and historian, Adam Ferguson occupies a unique place within eighteenth-century Scottish thought. Distinguished by a moral and historical bent, his work is framed within a teleological outlook that upholds the importance of action and virtue.

Keywords: Philosophy, history, Scottish thought, morality, virtue, action, civil society, human nature, self-preservation, mankind, war, dissension, happiness, property, subordination, civil liberty, national spirit, corruption, political slavery, moral philosophy, knowledge, science, God, immortality, soul, Roman Republic, political science, mind, intelligence, habit, beauty, excellence, defect, vice, jurisprudence, law, rights