Francis Hutcheson

Francis Hutcheson (1694–1746) was an Irish-born Scottish Enlightenment philosopher who taught moral philosophy at the University of Glasgow. He argued that humans possess an innate moral sense and that virtue aims at the greatest happiness for the greatest number.

Moral sense theory: The view that people perceive moral qualities through a natural faculty analogous to sensory perception. Hutcheson made this theory central to explaining how people distinguish virtue from vice.
Moral approval: A favorable moral response to a person’s character or action. Hutcheson explained approval as the moral sense’s response to benevolent motives.
Scottish Enlightenment: An eighteenth-century intellectual movement centered in Scotland, known for work in philosophy, science, and political economy. Hutcheson’s teaching and influence helped shape this movement’s moral philosophy.
Adam Smith: A Scottish moral philosopher and political economist, best known for The Theory of Moral Sentiments and The Wealth of Nations. Smith studied under Hutcheson and developed a different account of moral judgment.
Utilitarianism: An ethical family of theories that evaluates actions by their consequences for well-being. Hutcheson’s happiness-based ranking of actions anticipated a central utilitarian method.
Moral sense: A proposed human faculty that perceives moral approval and disapproval. Hutcheson treated it as an immediate, non-rational response to character and action.
Affections: Emotional dispositions that incline people toward particular objects and actions. He classified benevolent affections as the primary sources of virtuous action.
Shaftesbury: Anthony Ashley Cooper, third Earl of Shaftesbury, was an English moral philosopher and writer. Hutcheson drew on Shaftesbury’s emphasis on natural affections and sociability.
David Hume: A Scottish philosopher and historian whose work transformed empiricism and moral philosophy. Hume shared Hutcheson’s emphasis on sentiment while offering a distinct theory of moral evaluation.
Virtue ethics: An approach to ethics centered on character and the cultivation of virtues. Hutcheson’s focus on benevolent character connects his theory to virtue-centered ethics.

Linked from 9 pages