A System of Moral Philosophy In Three Books

Often described as the father of the Scottish Enlightenment, Francis Hutcheson (1694–1746) was born in the north of Ireland to an Ulster-Scottish Presbyterian family. Organised into three 'books' that were divided between two volumes, A System of Moral Philosophy was his most comprehensive work. It synthesised ideas that he had formulated as a minister and as the Chair of Moral Philosophy at the University of Glasgow (1729–46). Published posthumously by his son in 1755, prefaced by an account of his life, it is the only treatise by Hutcheson for which a manuscript is known to have survived. Asserting that individual natural rights derive from an innate understanding of moral behaviour, Hutcheson offers a model that mediates between individual interests and communal ideals. Containing Book 1 and part of Book 2, Volume 1 describes the role and perception of 'perfect' and 'imperfect' natural rights.

Subscribers; Preface; Part I. Concerning the Constitution of Human Nature, and the Supreme Good: 1. Of the constitution of human nature; 2. Concerning the finer powers of perception; 3. Concerning the ultimate determinations of the will, and benevolent affections; 4. Concerning the moral sense; 5. The sense of honour and shame explained; 6. How far the several sensations appetites, passions and affections are in our power; 7. A comparison of the several sorts of enjoyment; 8. A comparison of the several tempers and characters; 9. The duties towards God; 10. The affections, duty, and worship, to be exercised toward the deity; 11. The conclusions of this book; Part II. Containing a Deduction of the More Special Laws of Nature: 1. The circumstances which encrease or diminish the moral good or evil of actions; 2. General rules of judging about the morality of actions; 3. The general notions of rights and law explained; 4. The different states of men; 5. The private rights of men; 6. The adventitious rights, real, and personal; 7. The means of acquiring property; 8. Concerning derived property.