Francis Hutcheson Research Paper

The Internal Sense Philosopher

Francis Hutcheson with his theories of human nature focused on moral sense, Nature and Conduct of the Passions and Affections, and beauty and virtue which were major influences on Adam Smith who you can trace early roots of modern capitalism to.

Despite Francis Hutcheson secondary influence on American capitalism he was not born in the states nor did he ever venture there. Hutcheson was an Irish philosopher born August 8th, 1694 in Ulster, Ireland. Besides being a philosopher he was also as licensed preacher following his dad who was a Presbyterian minister. He spent six years at the University of Glasgow, where he originally was studying philosophy, classics, and general literature, and then started to study

Hutcheson wrote “Nature and Conduct of the Passions and Affections” in 1729 and was published anonymously. It was one of his most famous works. Being that he was a naturalistic philosopher, Francis applied Isaac's Newton's scientific laws (1687 AD) to the human mind, thus writing the book. Newton's impact on how all nature can be explained by "laws" permeated every area of mankind which Hutcheson explains in his writing. Hutcheson saw madness as nothing more then a resultant of fluids compiled chemicals in the body just making a chemical reaction not an actual feeling or mental problem. “Dispositions such as bribes and terrors canning compare to the virtue of the love of God and. neighbor's.” (Hutcheson 108). Another quote which isn't from Hutcheson but actually from one of his student is “ Our passions can rarely be restrained of interest of self love”(Adam Smith 5). In section iv: How far our several Affections and Passions are under our Power, either to govern them when raised, he begins to elaborate on how we don't has put passions in power. He said “ From what was said above it appears, that our Passions are not so much in our Power, as some seem to imagine, from the topics used either to raise or allay them. We are so constituted by Nature, that, as soon as we form the Idea of certain Objects or Events, our Desire

It states that wisdom denotes only a Capacity of pursuing this End by the best Means. A quote from beauty and virtue— "That Human Nature was not left quite indifferent in the Affair of Virtue, to form to itself Observations concerning the Advantage, or Disadvantage of Actions, and accordingly to regulate its Conduct”.(Hutcheson 1). In this quote he is stating that our nature as humans is not at all different from virtue, what is virtuous, and how it forms just as you form an idea of something being virtuous or not when it comes to concerning the positives or negatives of said action. In the book he talks to the effect of what is beauty, what determines beauty, beauty pertaining to the senses and to the physical and mental aspect. Along with that it expands on our conscience, moral abilities, moral good and evil. Another quote paraphrased “Any truth is nothing else than its Moment, or Efficacy to make yourself or as a people happy, or to give them the greatest and most lasting Pleasure; we are not directly told how both Knowledge or Truth is pleasant to us. reflecting upon our external physical senses, we can clearly view, that how we perceive Pleasure and (or) Pain do not rely exactly on our will.”

The most intriguing aspect of the book was in Moral Good and Evil, section 1: Of the Moral Sense by which we perceive Virtue and Vice. Using his views in section 1, he believes