Adam Ferguson
Overview
 
Adam Ferguson FRSE, also known as Ferguson of Raith (20 June 1723 (O.S.) (July 1, N.S.) - 22 February 1816) was a Scottish philosopher, social scientist and historian of the Scottish Enlightenment
Scottish Enlightenment
The Scottish Enlightenment was the period in 18th century Scotland characterised by an outpouring of intellectual and scientific accomplishments. By 1750, Scots were among the most literate citizens of Europe, with an estimated 75% level of literacy...

. He is sometimes called "the father
Fathers of scientific fields
Those known as the father, mother, or considered the founder of a scientific field are the scientists who have made important contributions to that field...

 of modern sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...

."
Born at Logierait
Logierait
Logierait is a village and parish in Atholl, Scotland. It is situated at the confluence of the rivers Tay and Tummel, west of the A9 road in Perth and Kinross....

 in Atholl
Atholl
Atholl or Athole is a large historical division in the Scottish Highlands. Today it forms the northern part of Perth and Kinross, Scotland bordering Marr, Badenoch, Breadalbane, Strathearn, Perth and Lochaber....

, Perthshire
Perthshire
Perthshire, officially the County of Perth , is a registration county in central Scotland. It extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south...

, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, he received his education at Logierait Parish School, Perth Grammar School
Perth Grammar School
Perth Grammar School is a secondary school in Perth, Scotland. It is located in the Muirton district of Perth at the junction of Bute Drive and Gowans Terrace...

, and at the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...

 and the University of St Andrews
University of St Andrews
The University of St Andrews, informally referred to as "St Andrews", is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the English-speaking world after Oxford and Cambridge. The university is situated in the town of St Andrews, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It was founded between...

 (MA 1742). In 1745, owing to his knowledge of Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic language
Scottish Gaelic is a Celtic language native to Scotland. A member of the Goidelic branch of the Celtic languages, Scottish Gaelic, like Modern Irish and Manx, developed out of Middle Irish, and thus descends ultimately from Primitive Irish....

, he gained appointment as deputy chaplain
Chaplain
Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...

 of the 43rd (afterwards the 42nd) regiment (the Black Watch
Black Watch
The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The unit's traditional colours were retired in 2011 in a ceremony led by Queen Elizabeth II....

), the licence to preach being granted him by special dispensation, although he had not completed the required six years of theological
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...

 study.

It remains a matter of debate as to whether, at the Battle of Fontenoy
Battle of Fontenoy
The Battle of Fontenoy, 11 May 1745, was a major engagement of the War of the Austrian Succession, fought between the forces of the Pragmatic Allies – comprising mainly Dutch, British, and Hanoverian troops under the nominal command of the Duke of Cumberland – and a French army under Maurice de...

 (1745), Ferguson fought in the ranks throughout the day, and refused to leave the field, though ordered to do so by his colonel.
Quotations

The attainments of the parent do not descend in the blood of his children, nor is the progress of man to be considered as a physical mutation of the species.

PART I, SECTION I

Love is an affection which carries the attention of the mind beyond itself, and is the sense of a relation to some fellow creature as to its object.

PART I, SECTION II

Mankind have always wandered or settled, agreed or quarrelled, in troops and companies.

PART I, SECTION III

We are fond of distinctions; we place ourselves in opposition, and quarrel under the denominations of faction and party, without any material subject of controversy.

PART I, SECTION IV

Men are to be estimated, not from what they know, but from what they are able to perform

PART I, SECTION V

The history of mankind is confined within a limited period, and from every quarter brings an intimation that human affairs have had a beginning.

PART II, SECTION I

Man, in his animal capacity, is qualified to subsist in every climate.

PART III, SECTION I

…if we intend to pursue the history of our species in its further attainments, we may soon enter on subjects which will confine our observation to more narrow limits. The genius of political wisdom and civil arts appears to have chosen his seats in particular tracts of the earth, and to have selected his favourites in particular races of men.

PART III, SECTION I

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.

PART III, SECTION II

In every commercial state, notwithstanding any pretension to equal rights, the exaltation of a few must depress the many.

PART IV, SECTION II

 
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