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  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
1

James Mill's 'History of British India' in its intellectual context

Chen, Jeng-Guo January 2000 (has links)
This thesis argues that James Mill's History of British India is, on the one hand, intellectually linked to the Scottish Enlightenment, while, on the other hand, moves beyond that intellectual tradition in the post-French Revolution age. This thesis makes three central claims. First, it argues that in reacting to Montesqueiu's idea of oriental society, the contributors to the Scottish Enlightenment used ideas of moral philosophy, philosophical history and political economy in order to create an image of a wealthy Asia whose societies possessed barbarous social manners. Some new writings about Asian societies that were published in the 1790s adopted Montesquieu' s views of oriental societies, and started to consider the history of manners and of political institutions as the true criteria of the state of civilisation. These works criticised some Asian social manners, such as female slavery, and questioned previous assumptions about the high civilisation of Indian and Chinese societies. This thesis argues that Mill's History, following William Robertson's History of America, was based on a study of the historical mind to interpret the texts published in the 1790s and the early nineteenth century. Second, this thesis argues that Mill adopted Francis Jeffrey's idea of semi-barbarism in his study of India. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, William Alexander and Francis J effrey started to think of history in the context of a tri -stadia! theory, which was more idealist and less materialist than the earlier four-stages theory. Mill tried to develop a holistic view of Asian society. In so doing, he came to criticise the British government's mistaken mercantilist view of government, which he regarded as unsuitable for the conditions of Indian society. Following Adam Smith's moral philosophy, and inspired by the socio-economic progress of North America, Mill suggested that the primary goals for the British government in India should be to improve its agriculture and to secure social freedom. This thesis also concludes that the discussions about Chinese society played an important part in shaping Mill's view of the concept of semi-barbarism. The theory of semi-barbarism helped Mill to reject the cultural ideology of Hindu superiority over Muslim societies. Lastly, this thesis argues that Mill's History was influenced by and sought to accommodate Benthamite Utilitarianism. Mill believed the supposed semi-barbarous and problematic native of Indian society could be reformed without following the steps taken by European history or institutions. He prescribed a powerful state for India in order to remove the mercantilist view of government, and to execute administrative and judicial reforms. This thesis concludes that, while Scottish philosophical history helped Mill to create a critique of the British government's attempts to govern India as a commercial society, Benthamite Utilitarianism taught Mill to see history from a teleological viewpoint.
2

The Religious Foundations of Civic Virtue

Maloyed, Christie Leann 2010 August 1900 (has links)
Scholarly accounts of the history of civic virtue in the modern era have with few exceptions been wholly secular, discounting, ignoring, or even outright rejecting the role religious thought has played in shaping the civic tradition. In this dissertation, I focus on the influence of religion on the civic tradition, specifically in the eighteenth century in Scotland and America. I examine the ways in which the religious traditions of each nation shaped the debate surrounding the viability of civic virtue, the place of religious virtues among the civic tradition, and the tensions between using religion to promote civic virtue while protecting individual religious liberty. In the Scottish Enlightenment, I examine the influence of Francis Hutcheson’s moral sense philosophy and Adam Ferguson’s providential theology. In the American Founding, I contrast the New England religious tradition exemplified by John Witherspoon and John Adams with the public religious tradition advocated by Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine, and Thomas Jefferson. This work demonstrates not only that religion influences the civic tradition, but also that this influence is neither monolithic nor self-evident. In order to understand how religion shaped this tradition, it is necessary to take into account that different conceptions of religion produce different understandings of what it means to be a good citizen.
3

Examining editions of The Natural History of Aleppo : revitalizing eighteenth-century texts

Starkey, Janet Catherine Murray January 2013 (has links)
This thesis revisits the liberal intellectual tradition of the Scottish Enlightenment by comparing two editions of The Natural History of Aleppo (1756: 1794) written and/or edited by Scottish physicians, half-brothers Alexander and Patrick Russell, in which they recorded their observations of Aleppo in northern Syria. There has been only one other monograph written about this text, entitled Aleppo observed by Maurits van den Boogert and published in 2010. As yet no comparative study of the two editions seems to have been made. As a result, this thesis should revitalize interest in The Natural History of Aleppo (1756 and 1794) across academic fields including Levantine and Ottoman studies, subject-specific disciplines and in the Scottish context. This thesis is divided into four parts. In the first part Chapter 1 provides a literature review and outlines the structure of this thesis. Chapter 2 is a synopsis of the authors’ life histories as background for subsequent discussion. In Part II, the popularity of the two editions (1756 and 1794) is assessed (Chapter 3). This assessment is followed by an appraisal of literary aspects of the two editions of an eighteenth-century text (Chapter 4). To assess the quality, originality and relative significance of Aleppo further, selected topics covered variously in the two editions are explored in Part III (Chapter 5 on medicine, Chapter 6 on flora and fauna, and Chapter 7 on aspects of the exotic). The final Part IV provides a range of conclusions to revitalize eighteenth-century texts and suggests topics for further research.
4

'Scottish Cato'? : a re-examination of Adam Ferguson's engagement with classical antiquity

Nicolai, Katherine Cecilia January 2011 (has links)
Adam Ferguson (1723-1816) was one of the leading figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, an influential eighteenth-century moral and political philosopher, as well as a professor of ethics at the University of Edinburgh from 1764 to 1785. There has been a wealth of scholarship on Ferguson in which central themes include his role as a political theorist, sociologist, moral philosopher, and as an Enlightenment thinker. One of the most frequent topics addressed by scholars is his relationship to ancient philosophy, particularly Stoicism. The ease with which scholars identify Ferguson as a Stoic, however, is problematic because of the significant differences between Ferguson‟s ideas and those of the „schools‟ of classical antiquity, especially Stoicism. Some scholars interpret Ferguson‟s philosophy as a derivative, unsystematic „patchwork‟ because he drew on various ancient sources, but, it is argued, did not adhere to any particular system. The aim of my thesis is to suggest an alternative interpretation of Ferguson‟s relationship to ancient philosophy, particularly to Stoicism, by placing Ferguson in the context of the intellectual history of the eighteenth century. The first section of this thesis is an examination of Ferguson‟s response to the Quarrel between the Ancients and the Moderns, modern eclecticism and the experimental method to demonstrate how Ferguson‟s approach to and engagement with ancient philosophy is informed by these intellectual contexts. The second section is a close analysis of the role that ancient schools play in his discussion of the history of philosophy as well as the didactic purpose found in his lectures and published works thereby determining the function of ancient thought in his philosophy. The third section is a re-examination of Ferguson‟s concept of Stoicism and his engagement with Stoic ethics in his moral philosophy re-interpreting his relationship to the ancient school. With a combination of a new understanding of Ferguson‟s methodology and new assessment of his engagement with ancient thought, a new interpretation of Ferguson‟s moral philosophy demonstrates his unique contribution to eighteenth-century thought.
5

Parents, Politicians, and the Public: Hume's Natural History of Justice is Humean Enough

Collison, Scott 06 January 2017 (has links)
David Hume argues that reflections upon public utility explain the psychological foundations of justice and the moral feelings attendant on it. Adam Smith objects that Hume’s theory of justice is psychologically implausible. A just punishment attracts the approval of every citizen on Hume’s alleged view. Not every citizen can consider the abstract public interest every time, Smith observes, so Hume can’t have explained all of justice. I argue, in response, that Smith’s objection has not accounted for all of the causal processes that Hume draws upon in support of reflections upon public utility. Conventions establish the very possibility of public interest, and socializing processes lend the public interest its moral salience. Human nature includes a species-general passion for acquiring property for the sake of family. The motivational centrality and universal scope of this passion, coupled with the dramatic psychological power of sympathy, generates the first moral feelings. Social conditioning develops those feelings into attitudes about reward and punishment. Hume’s theory of justice, with his conjectures about sociocultural processes, is both psychologically plausible and more complex than commentators tend to appreciate.
6

"Our master & father at the head of physick" : the learned medicine of William Cullen

Wolf, Jeffrey Charles January 2015 (has links)
This is a study of Dr. William Cullen (1710-1790), the Scottish chemist, physician, and professor of medicine, who played a significant role in the Scottish Enlightenment. I argue that Cullen was both a more unorthodox figure in Scottish medicine than he is generally depicted, as well as a more ambitious one. Despite his controversial doctrines, he skillfully managed the hierarchy of his profession and reached the pinnacle of success as a learned physician in the Scottish Enlightenment. I explore Cullen’s life and thought from different angles. I explicate his pedagogical persona and philosophy of medicine, both of which shaped the experiences of his pupils. I show how his neurophysiology was rooted in his contentious interpretation of the nature of the nervous fluid. And I provide a detailed look at Cullen’s understanding of hygiene, or the art of health—a rarely-studied component of his practice of medicine.
7

Criminal law and the Scottish moral tradition

Kennedy, Chloe Jane Sophia January 2014 (has links)
This thesis presents an account of the development of Scots criminal law which concentrates on the influence of the Scottish moral tradition, as epitomised by Calvinist theological doctrine and Scottish Enlightenment moral philosophy. It argues that there are several crucial but seldom-acknowledged points of similarity between the Calvinist aim of creating a holy community and key tenets of eighteenth century Scottish moral thought, which rest upon community-oriented conceptions of the nature of morality and society. Both these shared conceptions and the particular ways they are expressed in Calvinist creed and Enlightenment philosophy are shown to have had a bearing on the way that Scots criminal law changed over time. The areas in which this influence is demonstrated are: the scope and principles of the law, i.e. the type of conduct that was punishable and the arguments that were put forward to justify its prohibition; the attribution of criminal responsibility (and non-responsibility); and the importance of mental state. It is argued that in each of these discrete areas changing perspectives on the nature of morality and human agency had a palpable impact on both legal doctrine and practice. When these different areas of the law are viewed as a whole and in historical perspective, the formative force of the Scottish moral tradition becomes clear and its influence can be seen to have extended into the contemporary law. The thesis therefore provides an original interpretation of the history of Scots criminal law by considering its sources and institutions from hitherto unexplored theological and moral perspectives, whilst simultaneously enhancing scholarly appreciation of certain aspects of the contemporary law that appear unusually moralistic. It also makes a broader contribution to socio-historic scholarship and strengthens its position as a recognised and worthwhile discipline by illustrating, using a concrete legal system, how legal history can enhance debates within criminal law theory and vice versa.
8

Reflexões em voz alta: uma investigação sobre a sociabilidade dos literati na Escócia do século XVIII / Thinking out loud: an inquiry on the literati sociability in Eighteenth-Century Scotland

Justo, Tainá Veloso [UNESP] 29 May 2018 (has links)
Submitted by Taina Veloso Justo (vtaina@gmail.com) on 2018-07-27T16:42:37Z No. of bitstreams: 1 JUSTO,Taina V. Reflexões em Voz Alta.docx: 224632 bytes, checksum: 5cf6cd29f11cd0ed5ed2fe0ba05efd83 (MD5) / Rejected by Aline Aparecida Matias null (alinematias@fclar.unesp.br), reason: Solicitamos que realize uma nova submissão seguindo as orientações abaixo: 1) O arquivo submetido deve ser em PDF. 2) Epígrafe: a epígrafe invadiu a página do resumo. 3) Numeração das páginas: as páginas pré-textuais devem ser contadas, com exceção da capa e ficha catalográfica, porém a numeração deve aparecer somente a partir da primeira página textual, a Introdução. Sendo assim sua Introdução começa na página 10. 3) Sumário: após renumerar o trabalho será preciso refazer o sumário para que ele reflita fielmente o trabalho. Agradecemos a compreensão. on 2018-07-27T17:42:49Z (GMT) / Submitted by Taina Veloso Justo (vtaina@gmail.com) on 2018-07-30T11:56:31Z No. of bitstreams: 1 JUSTO,Taina V. Reflexões em Voz Alta.pdf: 811894 bytes, checksum: b232f6d64a1775c5ffa0bc5742398625 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Aline Aparecida Matias null (alinematias@fclar.unesp.br) on 2018-07-30T13:22:57Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 justo_tv_me_arafcl.pdf: 811894 bytes, checksum: b232f6d64a1775c5ffa0bc5742398625 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-07-30T13:22:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 justo_tv_me_arafcl.pdf: 811894 bytes, checksum: b232f6d64a1775c5ffa0bc5742398625 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-05-29 / Investiga-se o meio em que se dá o desenvolvimento das ideias dos pensadores escoceses do século XVIII por meio da identificação de linguagens políticas comuns, reconstituição histórica, estudo do pensamento político e sociabilidade, sobretudo, em relação os clubes intelectuais nos quais participavam. Trabalhamos os conceitos de “intelectual” e de “sociabilidade”. Utilizamos técnica de pesquisa histórica conhecida como ‘contextualismo linguístico de Cambridge’, cujos grandes expoentes são Quentin Skinner e John G. A. Pocock; também está contida a “história dos conceitos” trabalhada por Reinhart Koselleck. Por meio de pesquisa qualitativa e estudo bibliográfico, analisamos textos que abordam a temática “Iluminismo Escocês” tais como coletâneas de artigos, diários de observações, revistas da época, correspondências dos membros do clube, bem como algumas obras de relevo sobre o pensamento político escocês do século XVIII. / We investigate the development of the ideas of Scottish thinkers of the eighteenth century through the identification of common political languages, historical reconstitution, study of political thought and sociability, especially in relation to the intellectual clubs in which they participated. We work on the concepts of "intellectual" and "sociability". We use historical research technique known as 'Cambridge linguistic contextualism', whose great exponents are Quentin Skinner and John G. A. Pocock; is also contained the "history of concepts" worked by Reinhart Koselleck .Through qualitative research and bibliographical study, we analyze texts that deal with the theme of "Scottish Enlightenment" such as collections of articles, journals of remarks, periodicals, correspondence of the members of the club, as well as some important works on Scottish political thought of the eighteenth century
9

[en] HUME AND HISTORY: AN ANALYSIS ON THE ESSAYS MORAL, POLITICAL AND LITERARY / [pt] DAVID HUME E HISTÓRIA: UMA ANÁLISE DOS ENSAIOS MORAIS, POLÍTICOS E LITERÁRIOS

FLAVIO DA SILVA RIBEIRO 15 February 2007 (has links)
[pt] A presente dissertação procura compreender algumas reflexões sobre a história contidas nos Ensaios Morais, Políticos e Literários do filósofo escocês David Hume (1711-1776). Neste trabalho (1758), cuja característica dominante é a heterogeneidade dos temas abordados, o autor busca o conhecimento dos assuntos humanos sob uma perspectiva secularizada, mostrando que entre uma idealização da sociedade (e de uma conduta moral dos homens que nela vivem) e sua realidade concreta a escolha para o verdadeiro esclarecimento deve recair sobre esta última, desmistificando quaisquer hipóteses metafísicas e religiosas como guias ao saber. Tomando a Inglaterra como exemplo preferencial não apenas dos avanços conquistados pelo mundo moderno europeu, mas também dos principais problemas deste, Hume estabelece algumas reflexões - tal como a moderação nas disputas políticas e a interdependência econômica entre os países - que têm por objetivo a fundamentação de uma ciência política. Para esta concorre também uma crítica empírica, que levará o escocês a priorizar os aspectos gerais das sociedades (como a economia, as instituições, os avanços técnicos) como modo de explicação da dinâmica histórica, que, segundo sua percepção, opera por transformações lentas e graduais, de forma seqüenciada, nunca ou raramente de maneira abrupta e imediata. Procuramos, além disso, analisar a importância metodológica de sua regra geral para a reflexão histórica, pois, por meio desta regra, Hume faz tanto considerações acerca do passado como propõe observações gerais para sua época e para o futuro, assinalando, desta forma, a maneira como as sociedades se desenvolveram e como elas, provavelmente, se desenvolveriam doravante, almejando o primeiro passo em direção a um conhecimento científico do funcionamento do conjunto social, capaz de permanecer ante as próprias mudanças circunstanciais pelas quais as sociedades naturalmente passam. / [en] The present research aims to comprehend some thoughts on history within the Essays Moral, Political and Literary, by the Scottish philosopher David Hume (1711-1776). In this particular work (1758), whose dominating characteristic is the heterogeneity of the proposed themes, the author is looking for the knowledge of human affairs under a secular perspective, exposing that between an idealization of society (including the moral conduct of men who live under her) and its concrete reality, the choice towards the very true knowledge must stand with the last, demystifying any metaphysical and religious hypothesis as guides to the capacity of learning. Taking England as a preferential example of the advances and problems of modern Europe, Hume sets some reflections - just as moderation in politics affairs and the economic interdependence among States - which observe the goal of founding a science of politics. In its basis remains an empirical criticism, which leads the Scot to conceive a priority to the general aspects of societies (as economy, institutions, technical advances) as a model of explanation on the historical dynamics, which, according to his conception, is transformed slowly and gradually, in a sequential way, never or rarely trough fast and immediate changes. One looked for, besides these aspects, to analyze the methodological importance of the author´s general rule to the historical concern, for, by using her, Hume wonders about the past and either proposes general directions for his time and future, marking, this way, how societies historically must have developed and how they, probably, would develop themselves from now on, aiming the first step to a scientific knowledge of society as a whole, that would be able to remain even through the circumstantial changes that naturally take place in societies.
10

The Primacy of Moral Philosophy: Dugald Stewart and the Scottish Enlightenment

Tannoch-Bland, Jennifer, J.Tannoch-Bland@mailbox.gu.edu.au January 2000 (has links)
Dugald Stewart was an influential teacher and philosopher during the final years of the Scottish Enlightenment. Until recently he has been seen as merely a significant expositor of Thomas Reid's common sense philosophy. This thesis does not attempt to assess the novelty of Stewart's writings in relation to his Scottish predecessors such as Reid: rather, it offers a detailed historical study of aspects of his work, placing them in the political and cultural context of the period following the French Revolution. Two questions stimulated this thesis. First, what prompted Stewart, a moral philosopher who was not an experimental philosopher, to write a major work on methodology? Second, why was there a gap of twenty-two years between the first volume of his Elements of the Philosophy of the Human Mind (1792) and the second (1814), which contained his methodological treatise? I aim to answer these questions by offering a contextual intellectual history of some important aspects of Stewart's work. The thesis argues that Stewart faced a new problem: he had to deal with attacks on moral philosophy - the core subject of the Edinburgh University curriculum - some of which were produced by institutional and political factors affecting the Scottish universities, others by the rising authority of the experimental physical sciences. I consider a selection of Stewart's writings in the light of this problem. In 1804 Stewart's own student, Francis Jeffrey, gave public voice to the charge that the science of mind (which constituted the central part of Scottish common sense philosophy) was outdated, unscientific and useless. Thereafter, Stewart was engaged in what he saw as an urgent task - the defence of the very status of philosophy and the role of the philosopher. The thesis considers some of his major works (and other writings) from this perspective: Philosophical Essays (1810) contained his first direct retort to Jeffrey; Stewart's treatment of methodology in Elements of the Philosophy of the Human Mind, Volume 2 (1814) and his section on intellectual character in Volume 3 (1827) are viewed as two significant components of his attempt to reassert the primacy of moral philosophy and the role of the moral philosopher.

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