Natural Law and Moral Philosophy: From Grotius to the Scottish Enlightenment

by Knud Haakonssen

Overview

This major contribution to the history of philosophy provides the most comprehensive guide to modern natural law theory available; sets out the full background to liberal ideas of rights and contractarianism; and offers an extensive study of the Scottish Enlightenment.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521496865
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	02/23/1996
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	6.26(w) x 9.29(h) x 1.18(d)

Table of Contents

Introduction: the Scottish Enlightenment in the history of ideas; 1. Natural law in the seventeenth century; 2. Natural law and moral realism: the civic-humanist synthesis in Francis Hutcheson and George Turnbull; 3. Between superstition and enthusiasm: David Hume's theory of justice, government and politics; 4. Adam Smith out of context: his theory of rights in Prussian perspective; 5. John Millar and the science of a legislator; 6. Thomas Reid's moral and political philosophy; 7. Dugald Stewart and the science of a legislator; 8. The science of a legislator in James Mackintosh's moral philosophy; 9. James Mill and Scottish moral philosophy; 10. From natural law to the rights of man; a European perspective on American debates; Bibliography.

Editorial Reviews

"...an interesting and important set of historical studies, written clearly and straightforwardly, resting on massive scholarship, and arguing for some challenging theses about matters that are still of lively theoretical interest." J.B. Schneewind, The Johns Hopkins University

"Natural Law and Moral Philosophy is an important canvass of a cultue at work. It is a study not simply of the rich linguistic matrix that constituted and supported the culture, but also of the publications, translations, and institutions that forged the moral personality for two centuries in Protestant Europe and North America." Martha K. Zebrowski, American Political Science Review

"Natural Law and Moral Philosophy is a singularly valuable addition to the library of anyone interested in the history of legal and political theory." Ronald Hamowy, Eighteenth Century Scotland

From the Publisher