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The Philosophy of George Turnbull Juan Manuel THE PHILOSOPHY OF GEORGE TURNBULL JUAN MANUEL GOMEZ PARIS A Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy At the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. May 2013 To Tuli ii Abstract George Turnbull (1698-1748) is one of the figures of the Scottish Enlightenment who has been largely overlooked. In this thesis I give the first detailed analysis of his major writings by focusing on a set of principles that guided and unified his work. I show that he constructed a unified system of philosophy and a proper Science of Man, which in turn draws attention to his relevance as an important figure of the early stages of the Scottish Enlightenment. I present an interpretation of Turnbull’s work that takes into account the deep interconnectedness of his texts and considers his anatomy of the human mind as the foundation on which he develops his theories of education, painting, religion, law, and politics. The unity of his work and the set of principles that guide it allow us to gain a deeper understanding of Turnbull’s thought and its place within its eighteenth-century context, highlighting his unique contribution to the development of the Science of Man. iii Preface This thesis is the final product of three very enjoyable years at the Department of Philosophy at the University of Otago. I have benefitted immensely from the academic atmosphere and a number of persons that have contributed to my development as a philosopher and as a human being. The first person I have to acknowledge is my supervisor Peter Anstey. He got me involved in an outstanding research project that helped form the present work in some way. He has been available to help me whenever I required and he has inspired and encouraged me all the way through. He is a great role model for anyone in this field. I am extremely grateful for all his work. I also need to thank Charles Pigden, my second supervisor. Besides helping shape and fortify specific chapters of this thesis, he helped me stay sane by letting me entertain my interest in the philosophy of art and other topics on numerous occasions. He has enriched my though in many ways and I owe him much for this. All the staff members in the department have been a great source of support and feedback. In particular I want to thank Alan Musgrave for letting me spend so much time around him. He is an inspiration as a professor and a philosopher, and I am grateful for all the conversations we’ve had and the support he has given. I would also like to thank Greg Dawes for helping me sort out some contextual details regarding the religious thought in Turnbull’s context, and Alberto Vanzo for all his help. My fellow graduate students also contributed to my development as a philosopher by listening to a number of my talks and putting up with me in general. Sally Holloway deserves a specific mention here. She has helped me sort out all kinds of issues and has patiently dealt with all the craziness that I have thrown at her the past three years, and I thank her for this. David Howard has been a good friend and motivator in the past year. I am very grateful for all his support and his help sorting out my recurrent grammar and spelling mistakes. My family in Colombia has been extremely supportive beyond the merely economical. Mom, Dad, and Ana have always been right there for me and despite the great number of miles iv between Dunedin and South America, they were always close. My grandma, to whom this thesis is dedicated, has been in my thoughts every day since I left Colombia in 2008, and I thank her for showing me the natural goodness of human beings. I am also grateful to the University of Otago for the financial support they have given me through their scholarships program, granting me a University of Otago Postgraduate Scholarship. Without their support I could not have undertaken this degree. Finally, I have been able to focus and enjoy my research thanks to the support of my friends in Dunedin. All of them have helped keep me sane and happy, but I am especially and extremely grateful to Laurel, and a very special thank you to Madlen and Moodie for becoming my family and taking care of me. v Table of Contents Abstract ....................................................................................................................................................... iii Preface ......................................................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ....................................................................................................................................... 1 List of Abbreviations .................................................................................................................................. 3 1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 5 1.1 The life of George Turnbull ....................................................................................................................... 8 1.2 The Science of Man and the Scottish Enlightenment .......................................................................... 14 2 Turnbull’s Guiding Principles .......................................................................................................... 34 2.1 The Natural Goodness of Mankind ........................................................................................................ 35 2.2 The Great Chain of Being ......................................................................................................................... 45 2.3 Philosophia Exprimentalis .............................................................................................................................. 54 3 The anatomy of the human mind .................................................................................................... 63 3.1 Turnbull on Natural and Moral Philosophy ........................................................................................... 64 3.2 Power and Knowledge ............................................................................................................................... 72 3.3 Body and Mind ............................................................................................................................................ 84 3.4 The Law of Association ............................................................................................................................. 91 3.5 The Moral Sense ....................................................................................................................................... 104 3.6 Private and Public Interest ...................................................................................................................... 111 3.7 Society ......................................................................................................................................................... 117 3.8 The Immortality of the Soul ................................................................................................................... 122 3.9 Human Nature and the Problem of Evil .............................................................................................. 129 4 Education .......................................................................................................................................... 137 4.1 Education for Virtue ................................................................................................................................ 139 4.2 The Association of Ideas and Education .............................................................................................. 145 4.3 Progress, Education, and Learning ........................................................................................................ 149 4.4 How to Educate for Virtue ..................................................................................................................... 152 5 Art, Virtue and Education .............................................................................................................. 172 5.1 Painting, Morality, and Truth.................................................................................................................. 174 5.2 The Life of Painters .................................................................................................................................. 179 5.3 The Unity of Art and Science ................................................................................................................. 184 5.4 The Rise and Fall of Ancient Society .................................................................................................... 188 5.5 Bringing Art Back ..................................................................................................................................... 195 6 Religion and the Scriptures ............................................................................................................. 204 6.1 Natural and Christian Religion ............................................................................................................... 206 6.2 The Unity of Natural, Moral, and God ................................................................................................. 219 6.3 Virtue, Vice, and the Scriptures .............................................................................................................
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