Francis Hutcheson

Logic, Metaphysics & the Natural Sociability of Mankind

Until the publication of this Liberty Fund edition, the works contained in "Logic, Metaphysics, and the Natural Sociability of Mankind" were available only to that elite group of scholars and readers who could read Latin. This milestone English translation will provide a general audience with insight into Hutcheson's thought. In the words of the editors: "Hutcheson's Latin texts in logic (Logicae Compendium) and metaphysics (Synopsis Metaphysicae) form an important part of his collected works. Published respectively in 1756 and, in its second edition, 1744, these works represent Hutcheson's only systematic treatments of logic, ontology, and pneumatology, or the science of the soul. They were considered indispensable texts for the instruction of students in the eighteenth century. Any serious study of Hutcheson's moral and political philosophy must take into account his understanding of logic (of ideas, judgments, propositions, and reasoning) and metaphysics (of existence, individuation, causation, substance, the soul, and the attributes of God)." The introduction and notes to this translation provide context to Hutcheson's moral philosophy and thus provide a setting for his philosophy as a whole. The introduction and notes also provide links to Hutcheson's teaching of logic and metaphysics during his career in Dublin in the 1720s and to his teaching of moral philosophy at Glasgow from 1730 until his death in 1746.