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The Influence of Francis Hutcheson on the Development of Economic Thought Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1975 The nflueI nce of Francis Hutcheson on the Development of Economic Thought. Walton Millett aP delford Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Padelford, Walton Millett, "The nflueI nce of Francis Hutcheson on the Development of Economic Thought." (1975). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 2886. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/2886 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 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Xerox University Microfilms 300 North Zaab Road Ann Arbor, Michigan 46106 76- 12,931 PADELFORD, Walton Mlllett, 1947- THE INFLUENCE OF FRANCIS HUTCHESON ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF ECONOMIC THOUGHT. The Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Ph.D., 197S Economics, history Xerox University Microfilmst Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106 THIS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN MICROFILMED EXACTLY AS RECEIVEO. THE INFLUENCE OF FRANCIS HUTCHESON ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF ECONOMIC THOUGHT A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Economics t»y Walton M. Padelford M.S., Louisiana State University, 1972 December, 1975 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Sincere thanks Is expressed to all the members of my comnittee: Dr. Edvard Henderson, Dr. Herman Daly, Dr. James Richardson, and Dr. Lamar Jones for helpful comments and criticisms which aided In the successful completion of this work. Special thanks Is extended to Dr. William Campbell who, in an age when time has become monetized, gave me his time In a most lib­ eral manner; and for better or worse caused me to choose this profession. 11 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i 1 ABSTRACT ................................................. iv Chapter I. INTRODUCTION.............................................. 1 II. ANCIENTS AND MODERNS ..................................... 6 Ancients ................................................. 6 M o d e r n s ................................................. 32 III. HUTCHESON'S PHILO S O P H Y ................................... 56 Hutcheson as Intermediate Figure ........................ 56 The Moral S e n s e ......................................... 66 The G o o d ................................................. 71 The Virtues ............................................. 81 Natural Rights ........................................... 87 S u m o a r y .......................................... 96 IV. HUTCHESON'S POLITICS AND ECONOMICS ...................... 100 P o l i t i c s ................................................. 100 E c o n o m i c s ............................................... Ill V. HUTCHESON AND S M I T H ..................................... 140 The Moral Invisible H a n d ................................ 142 Treatment of Mandeville ................................ 156 Utilitarianism........................................... 159 VI. LIBERAL POLITY AND CURRENT POLICY DILEMMAS .............. 164 Liberal Polity, Democracy, and Distribution ............ 164 Alienation and Externality...... ................... 171 The End of Liberalism?.................................. 173 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................... 184 VITA ................................................. 189 lit ABSTRACT This dissertation Is concerned primarily with the ideas of Francis Hutcheson about the nature of man, economic life, and eco­ nomic institutions. Hutcheson Is considered by many to be the founder of the Scottish Enlightenment, and he Instructed Adam Smith at the University of Glasgow. Hutcheson's positive contribution to moral philosophy centers around his doctrine of the moral sense which was an internal faculty capable of apprehending good and evil. The moral sense also dic­ tates certain duties of the virtuous life including the development of wise forms of polity and Improvement in technological processes. The analysis of economic phenomena constitutes a part of wise state­ craft and as such la included as a part of the life of virtue. Hutcheson's philosophical work provides a strong underpinning for liberal economics, because freedom will allow many men to follow the dictates of the moral sense. Therefore, decent behavior as well as economic growth are to be expected from the extension of liberty. This la very different from the spirit of Handevllle’s prlvate-vlces-public-beneflts paradox. Hutcheson's positive economic work added to the growing corpus of economic theory. His Importance for modern economists Is that policy recommendations are thoroughly grounded on objective princi­ ples of good. Economics and moral relativism do not go hand in hand iv for Hutcheson. He Is similar to modern liberals In the flexible approach he takes toward government, but Hutcheson's flexibility concerns the means to be used in attaining objective moral ends. Hutcheson's treatment of wise statecraft as part of the life of virtue leads to the legitimation of economics as an autonomous science. The outstanding early example of an autonomous economic study came thirty years after Hutcheson's death with the publica­ tion of the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith. v INTRODUCTION Francis Hutcheson was born August 8, 1694. He was the son of a dissenting minister in Northern Ireland. Hutcheson studied the classics and scholastic philosophy In Ireland until 1711 when he matriculated at the University of Glasgow to study for the ministry. One of Hutcheson's professors at Glasgow was Gershom Carmichael, a well-known commentator on the works of Samuel Pufendorf, a famous German jurist. In 1717 Hutcheson returned to Ireland with Inten­ tions of entering the Presbyterian ministry. In 1719 he was li­ censed to preach by the Synod of Ulster. By 1719 Hutcheson had some reputation in Northern Ireland as a classical scholar; and before he accepted a full-time pastorate, he was requested by clergymen in Dublin to open a private academy there. While in Dublin Hutcheson developed a friendship with Lord Viscount Molesworth, a wealthy merchant, diplomat, and student of philosophy. Molesworth was particularly a student of the philosophy of Anthony Ashley Cooper, the third Earl of Shaftesbury who first expounded the moral sense doctrine which was more fully developed by Hutcheson. Under the impetus of Shaftesbury's philosophy, Hutche­ son published his first book in 1725, An Inquiry Into the Original of Our Ideas of Beauty and Virtue. In 1728 the Essay on the Passions further established Hutcheson's reputation as an author, and In 1 2 1729 he was called to Scotland as Professor of Moral Philosophy at Glasgow where he Instructed Adam Smith, Hutcheson served at Glasgow for sixteen years. While there he was a leader In the "new light" movement which sought to introduce learning and culture Into the Presbyterian Church. He was a thinker, lecturer, and writer upon ethical, political, and economic Issues. He had a gift for teaching, and his writings were well known among intelligent readers of his day. He was beloved by students for the sincere interest he took in them. Hutcheson died while on a trip to Dublin on August 8, 1746 at the
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