supposed absurdity in erecting the faculties of mind into separate entities. To me it appears that the psychology of the Scottish thinkers, though imperfect and undeveloped, was yet the fitting precursor of the newer psychology which raises questions as to the whole course of animal and human intelligence, and as to the relations of mental facts to their physical conditions. They were right in insisting that mental science is impossible without introspection or selfobservation; and the lesson requires to be enforced from time to time against those who tell us that mind can be studied only in its bodily conditions or external manifestations, or that the strictly scientific method is to begin with the study of the lower animals. The observation of others and the experimental work of psychological laboratories can never be substitutes for the self-knowledge which they imply. At the same

time we find, even in the earlier period of Scottish psychology, ample acknowledgment of the difficulties of introspection. The value of the observation of other minds, including children, lunatics, the various races of mankind, and the lower animals, was recognised. The correlation of mental and physiological facts was admitted, though a wise discretion was shown in rejecting the "vibratiuncles" of Hartley and the crudities of phrenology. The idea that the so-called faculties or powers were independent sources of activity within the mind was expressly repudiated. The psychologists who wrote before the middle of the nineteenth century had not the advantage of the guiding idea of evolution; but on the whole one is surprised to find that their works contain little that is opposed to the latest teach

ing. It is not, however, with the history of psychology that we are here concerned, but with the history of philosophy; and I shall refer to the psychology of the Scottish thinkers only in so far as it is inextricably intertwined with their philosophical speculations.

In the present day, Scottish philosophy is somewhat discredited by the influence of the deeper speculations of Germany on the one hand, and on the other by theories in which empiricism has joined hands with the doctrine of evolution. We may, perhaps, be the better able to view it impartially, and to appreciate the place to which it is justly entitled in the history of thought. Its results are still potent wherever the English language is spoken, though the philosophy of Reid or of Hamilton may no longer present itself as a living rival to later forms of speculation. Nor can it be forgotten that while, in Germany, the critical philosophy of Kant sprang in part from the reaction against Hume, the revival of a spiritualistic philosophy in France was owing to the work of Reid and his Whatever may have been its faults, therefore, the philosophy of Scotland is memorable for the impulse which it has given to modern thought. And a Scotsman may be pardoned if he regards with pride and satisfaction the roll of men who have upheld the reputation of "the ancient kingdom" for abstract thought, and who, from their personal character, have left behind them the records of pure and noble lives.

successors.

CHAPTER II.

FRANCIS HUTCHESON-(1694-1746).

THE history of Scottish philosophy begins, curiously enough, with an Irishman. But though Francis Hutcheson was born in Ireland, he was closely related to Scotland by descent, by education, and by his attachment to the University of Glasgow for sixteen years as professor of moral philosophy. His grandfather, Alexander Hutcheson, migrated from Ayrshire to Ulster, and became the Presbyterian minister of Saintfield, in County Down. His father, John Hutcheson, was Presbyterian minister at Armagh. Francis was born on the 8th August, 1694; and his biographer, Dr. Leechman, tells us that from an early age he showed a superior capacity, an ardent thirst for knowledge, and a singular warmth of affection and disinterestedness of temper. After an elementary school education at Saintfield he was sent to an academy at Killyleagh, where he was taught, in addition to classics, the outlines of the scholastic philosophy. In the year 1711 he became a student in the University of Glasgow; and here, under the

teaching of Gershom Carmichael, his thoughts were turned to ethics and natural theology. Among other teachers by whom he was influenced were Robert Simson, afterwards praised by Hutcheson as "the best geometer in the world," and Alexander Dunlop, Professor of Greek. After taking his Arts degree, he studied divinity for three years under John Simpson. Professor Simpson was then and for many years afterwards under suspicion of heresy, and was ultimately suspended from office by the Assembly of the Church of Scotland. Hutcheson was won over to liberal or latitudinarian views, in opposition to the austere creed which prevailed in the west of Scotland and among the Presbyterians of Ireland; and it is narrated that on one occasion, when he officiated in place of his father, he incurred the displeasure of the elders, who complained that he had nothing to say about the good old comfortable doctrines of election, reprobation,. original sin, and faith, but spoke instead of a benevolent God, and of the possible salvation of the heathen. In 1717, he exchanged letters with Dr. Samuel Clarke on the then famous "Discourse concerning the Being and Attributes of God." He remained convinced that the true way of approaching such subjects was not by a pretended demonstration, but by probable reasoning, and his study of the various kinds of evidence led him to base morality on the facts of human nature and not, as Clarke had done, on the abstract relations of things.

He was on the point of being settled as a minister in the north of Ireland, when he was invited to open a private academy in Dublin. He accepted the

invitation, and acquitted himself well in his new position. At the same time he made the acquaintance of men who were interested in philosophical inquiries, including some who were familiar with the philosophy of Shaftesbury. In 1725 he published An Inquiry into the Original of our Ideas of Beauty and Virtue. Though the Inquiry was published anonymously, the name of the author became known, and Hutcheson's society was courted by men who had a love for literature or learning. Among these were Lord Carteret, then Lord-Lieutenant, and Archbishop King, author of De Origine Mali. The Archbishop befriended him also by preventing prosecutions to which dissenters were liable for teaching without a license from the ecclesiastical authorities. The Inquiry was an immediate success, and in a second edition, dedicated to Lord Carteret, the authorship of the book was acknowledged. In 1728 appeared An Essay on the Nature and Conduct of the Passions, with illustrations upon the Moral Sense, Hutcheson's reputation as an author rests mainly on these two publications.

Towards the end of 1729, on the death of Gershom Carmichael, he was appointed Professor of Moral Philosophy in the University of Glasgow. Carmichael is at least entitled to rank among the precursors of Scottish philosophy. In 1694 he won by public disputation the position of Regent in the University. It was the duty of a Regent to take his students. through the whole course of academic study. The system tended to secure personal attention to each student, and gave the teacher an opportunity of acquiring a powerful influence over his pupils. On