The Scottish Enlightenment: The Forgotten Founders of Modern Thought

The Scottish Enlightenment of the eighteenth century was one of the most extraordinary intellectual movements in modern history. Concentrated in the universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, it produced a remarkable body of work in philosophy, political economy, history, sociology, and the natural sciences. The major figures of the Scottish Enlightenment — David Hume, Adam Smith, Adam Ferguson, Thomas Reid, William Robertson, and many others — developed a comprehensive account of human nature, society, and history that has had a lasting influence on the development of modern social science and philosophy. This article examines the Scottish Enlightenment, including its key thinkers, its distinctive contributions, and its lasting influence on modern thought.

The Setting: The Scottish Universities

The Scottish Enlightenment developed in the context of the Scottish university system, which was organized differently from the English and Continental universities. The Scottish universities were more responsive to the needs of the country, more open to the new philosophy, and more oriented to the practical training of ministers, lawyers, and physicians.

The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, was the leading institution of the Scottish Enlightenment. The university was home to a remarkable series of professors who developed the various branches of the new learning, and it was a center of intellectual life in eighteenth-century Scotland.

The University of Glasgow, founded in 1451, was also an important center of the Scottish Enlightenment. The university was home to Adam Smith, who held the chair of moral philosophy from 1752 to 1764, and it was an important center of the Scottish philosophical and economic tradition.

The other Scottish universities — St Andrews, Aberdeen, and the smaller institutions — also contributed to the Scottish Enlightenment, and the network of Scottish intellectual life was an important factor in the development of the new philosophy.

The Major Thinkers

The major figures of the Scottish Enlightenment include the following.

Francis Hutcheson (1694–1746) was the founder of the Scottish philosophical tradition. His Enquiry into the Original of Our Ideas of Beauty and Virtue (1725) developed a theory of moral sense that was a precursor of the more developed moral theories of Hume and Smith. Hutcheson was also an important influence on the American revolutionaries, especially Benjamin Franklin.

David Hume (1711–1776) was the most formidable skeptical philosopher of the Scottish Enlightenment. His Treatise of Human Nature (1739–1740) and his Enquiries (1748, 1751) developed a comprehensive account of human nature that has had a lasting influence on the development of modern philosophy. Hume was also a major historian, and his History of England (1754–1762) was one of the most widely read historical works of the eighteenth century.

Adam Smith (1723–1790) was the founder of modern economics. His Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) and his Wealth of Nations (1776) established the foundations of modern social science. Smith was a central figure in the Scottish Enlightenment, and his work has had a lasting influence on the development of modern economic and ethical thought.

Adam Ferguson (1723–1816) was the founder of modern sociology. His Essay on the History of Civil Society (1767) developed a theory of the development of human societies that anticipated later evolutionary and historical sociology. Ferguson was also an important moral philosopher, and his work on the moral sentiments was an important contribution to the Scottish philosophical tradition.

Thomas Reid (1710–1796) was the founder of the “common sense” school of Scottish philosophy. Reid’s Enquiry into the Human Mind on the Principles of Common Sense (1764) was a response to Hume’s skepticism, and it became the dominant school of Scottish philosophy for the next century. Reid’s work was also an important influence on the American pragmatists, especially Charles Sanders Peirce and William James.

William Robertson (1721–1793) was the principal historian of the Scottish Enlightenment. His History of Scotland (1759), History of the Reign of the Emperor Charles V (1769), and History of America (1777) were widely read throughout Europe, and they were important contributions to the development of modern historical writing.

The Distinctive Contributions

The Scottish Enlightenment made several distinctive contributions to modern thought.

The first contribution was the development of the science of man. The Scottish thinkers developed a comprehensive account of human nature, society, and history that was based on the careful observation of the actual conditions of human life, rather than on the construction of abstract philosophical systems. The science of man was a precursor of the modern social sciences, including economics, sociology, political science, and anthropology.

The second contribution was the development of the moral sentimentalist tradition. The Scottish thinkers, especially Hutcheson, Hume, and Smith, developed a theory of morality that was based on the natural sentiments of human beings, rather than on the rational principles of the rationalist tradition. The moral sentimentalist tradition has had a lasting influence on the development of modern moral philosophy.

The third contribution was the development of the historical method. The Scottish thinkers, especially Robertson, Ferguson, and Hume in his historical works, developed a new method of historical writing that was based on the careful examination of the primary sources, the consideration of the broader context, and the avoidance of the religious and political biases of the older historiography. The historical method has had a lasting influence on the development of modern historical writing.

The fourth contribution was the development of the political economy. The Scottish thinkers, especially Smith, developed a new approach to the study of the economic life that was based on the systematic analysis of the actual operation of the markets, the role of the various institutions in the economic life, and the proper response of the state to the various economic problems. The political economy of the Scottish Enlightenment has had a lasting influence on the development of modern economic thought.

The Lasting Influence

The Scottish Enlightenment has had a lasting influence on the development of modern thought. The basic insights of the Scottish thinkers — about the proper foundation of human knowledge, the proper scope of human understanding, the proper response to the various social and economic problems — have been basic features of the modern intellectual tradition.

The most important lasting influence is on the development of the modern social sciences. The contemporary disciplines of economics, sociology, political science, and anthropology draw on the central arguments of the Scottish Enlightenment. The contemporary practice of these disciplines, with its emphasis on the careful observation of the actual conditions of human life, the systematic analysis of the various social and economic phenomena, and the proper recognition of the complexity of the human world, is a direct descendant of the Scottish Enlightenment.

The second most important lasting influence is on the development of the modern philosophy of mind. The contemporary debate about the proper foundation of human knowledge, the proper scope of human understanding, the proper response to the skeptical challenge, continues the debate that the Scottish Enlightenment began.

Further Reading

• Robert Darnton, The Literary Underground of the Old Regime (1982)
• Darrin McMahon, Enlightenment Contested (2006)
• Daniel Roche, The Enlightenment in the West (2010)