''An Essay on the History of Civil Society'' is a book by
Scottish Enlightenment philosopher
Adam Ferguson
Adam Ferguson, (Scottish Gaelic: ''Adhamh MacFhearghais''), also known as Ferguson of Raith (1 July N.S./20 June O.S. 1723 – 22 February 1816), was a Scottish philosopher and historian of the Scottish Enlightenment.
Ferguson was sympathet ...
, first published in 1767. The ''Essay'' established Ferguson's reputation in Britain and throughout Europe. In the second section of the third part of the ''Essay'' discussing the history of political establishments, Ferguson states "Every step and every movement of the multitude, even in what are termed enlightened ages, are made with equal blindness to the future; and nations stumble upon establishments, which are indeed the
result of human action, but not the execution of any human design."
Contents
Part I. Of the General Characteristics of Human Nature.
Part II. Of the History of Rude Nations.
Part III. Of the History of Policy and Arts.
Part IV. Of Consequences that result from the Advancement of Civil and Commercial arts.
Part V. Of the Decline of Nations.
Part VI. Of Corruption and Political Slavery.
Reception
The ''Essay'' was critically acclaimed upon publication with a wide readership for about thirty years after it was published.
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—es ...
praised Ferguson for "civilizing the Russians" as it was being taught in the
University of Moscow
M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...
.
David Hume
David Hume (; born David Home; 7 May 1711 NS (26 April 1711 OS) – 25 August 1776) Cranston, Maurice, and Thomas Edmund Jessop. 2020 999br>David Hume" ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved 18 May 2020. was a Scottish Enlightenment phil ...
, a friend of Ferguson's and an admirer of his earlier ''Essay on Refinement'' (1759), disliked the book.
Ferguson's writings on the
division of labour in Part IV influenced
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...
.
[Oz-Salzberger, 'Introduction', p. xxi.]
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Essay on the History of Civil Society
Books in political philosophy
1767 books
Civil society
1767 in Scotland
Scottish Enlightenment
Scottish non-fiction literature
18th-century essays
Books about the philosophy of history
History books about Scotland