Adam Ferguson was a historian and philosopher whose work is considered to have led to the subject we now know as sociology. He is remembered for his highly influential ‘Essay on the History of Civil Society’ of 1767, an account of humanity from earliest times to contemporary life in the Scottish Enlightenment.
Born in the village of Logierait, Perthshire to a Church of Scotland minister, Ferguson attended Perth Grammar School before continuing his education at the University of St Andrews. After graduating in 1742 he moved to Edinburgh to study divinity with a view to following his father’s footsteps and becoming a minister. There he met some of the key figures in the Scottish Enlightenment, notably Alexander Carlyle and Hugh Blair.
Halfway through his studies he was released to serve as a chaplain in the Black Watch regiment during the Jacobite uprising because of his knowledge of Gaelic. He remained with the regiment for nearly a decade before leaving the ministry having failed to achieve a significant position within the church.
Turning instead to academia, he was appointed Professor of Natural Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh in 1759 and Chair of Pneumatics (philosophy of mind) and Moral Philosophy five years later. Having succeeded in achieving such a prominent position, he almost lost it due to prolonged absences in Italy and France where he mixed with leading thinkers of the day including Voltaire.
In 1767 he published his most famous work, Essay on the History of Civil Society. An immediate success, it was translated into several European languages. In it, Ferguson explores modern society in terms of how civic and communal values are affected by commercial interests.
He went on to write many other influential books including a history of the Roman Republic. Ferguson’s interests extended to contemporary politics, and he published a pamphlet on the American Revolution which was sympathetic to the British government’s position.
This led to his appointment as secretary to the Carlisle Peace Commission which attempted, unsuccessfully, to reach a compromise with the colonies in revolt across the Atlantic. Having recovered from an attack of paralysis in 1780, Ferguson committed to being a teetotal vegetarian for the remaining 36 years of his life.
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