Moral Philosophy

This chapter looks at Ferguson’s attempts to build a normative moral philosophy on the basis of his moral science. The relationship between universal attributes of human nature and their manifestation in the circumstances of particular societies leads Ferguson to attempt the creation of a clear moral vocabulary that will allow for ‘censorial inspection’ and moral decision making. Ferguson is not suggesting that we are bound by the content of current moral beliefs, but rather that these beliefs are the material that can help us clarify our thinking about moral issues. The chapter examines the key elements of Ferguson’s theory including his account of virtue, sociability, benevolence, happiness, action, and ambition. It argues that we should see Ferguson as a modern casuist, preparing a language for clear moral thinking.