The Structure Of Moral Consciousness And The Oder Of Sentiments:a Study On Hutcheson’s Moral Philosophy

Since the birth of Hobbes’ thoughts, it has brought about great impact theoretically and practically, and naturally making a challenge to Ethics. For justifying the legitimacy of modern state sovereignty, Hobbes, almost reversely, presented a theory of " state of nature ", in which life is depicted as solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short unless under this absolute authority. That everyone must keep the covenant is the necessary condition for an individual’s moral action. Partly for the sake of taking the challenge, Francis Hutcheson carefully studies the nature and conduct of passions and affections, defining new content of human nature by showing the providential design in the construction of human beings and natural sociability. This new definition begins with the construction and distinction of different senses.Hutcheson’s basic premise—in both the affections and the moral sense theory—is that our immediate perceptions of the moral qualities of an action or a character are derived from a "sense", like the external senses, that perceives external, adventitious qualities. Thus, Hutcheson argued that the content of a moral perception, the quality perceived, cannot be forced upon our private advantage. Moral perceptions are, like the perceptions of other senses, independent of the will, which makes Hutcheson’s moral philosophy distinctive from theological Voluntarism and Rationalism.Hutheson believes that our ideas have their origin in our perceptions and are received by senses. At the same time, for different perceptions we have different senses. Perceptions are founded in certain qualities of the objects perceived. And these qualities we can describe in a maxim or formula. Hutcheson’s theory in both treatises therefore is a complex of three related components:a subjective sense, an objective foundation, and an analytical formula.To criticize the selfish system (Hedonism or egosim whether psychologically or morally), Hutcheson distinguishes two versions of "good" and "evil", that is, natural and moral good or evil. A natural good is perceived only in inanimate beings. This perception is one of advantage or disadvantage, of pleasure or pain. A moral good is perceived in rational agents since they study the interest, and desire the happiness of other beings, during which a moral perception and a moral affection or desire are necessary. As a result, benevolence is the foundation of the moral good, and the moral sense is the source of moral ideas, of approbation and disapprobation.In fact, according to Hutcheson, there exists a hierarchy in the family of senses, in which external senses are lower, the internal senses higher, the public sense even higher, and the moral sense (directly connected with the chief happiness in the judgment of all mankind) the highest. In this sense, Hutcheson is the initiator of Utilitarianism.Conclusively, the progress of the sentiments, especially the calm and universal benevolence from self-love, accordingly leads us to meditation or reflection not only on the human system but also on its place in the universal system. Such meditation or reflection shows how many negative features of human nature have their place—in moderation. By meditation or reflection on the universal"oeconomy", we finally learn to regulate passions so as to be happy and to make others happy.Lastly, in order to defend the unconditionalality, universality, independence and immediacy of moral sense, Hutcheson successively criticized Samuel Clarke (eternal moral relations, and "fitnesses") and William Wollaston ("significancy" of truth in actions). Hutcheson concluded that whether exciting or justifying reasons, whether fitnesses or significancy, or relations, they all presuppose affections and desires, which are previous to reason.So, to understand the structure and oder of sentiments in Hutcheson’s moral philosophy, and for a clear presentation of the subjective matter both in particular and general, we have to understand this movement fully, and needing a more coheren vision and perspective, viz. recognizing the several relationship between sentiments and reason, theology and seculariztion, self-love and benevolence, otium and negotium, ethics and philosophy, Scottish Enlightenment Movement and Chinese moral thoughts.Concretely, this dissertation handles this philosophy character——Hutcheson from these five perspective.(1) understand the Hutcheson’s moral ontology and epistemology in the secularization of religion and new construction of human nature, and in the interaction between the science of human nature and moral philosophy;(2) understand the Hutcheson’s criticism on rationalism and the pure unconditionality in the moral consciousness in the flux of the concept of reason;(3) understand the controversy the criticism on Hobbes and Mandeville from the intension of self-love and benevolence, atomism mechanism and holistic vitalism;(4) understand the riddle of Hutcheson’s identity:both a Christianized Stocism and an initiator of Utilitarianism through controversy in otium and negotium;(5) derive the more general ideas according to the relevance between Hutcheson and the whole Scottish Enlightenment, and make a proper comparison to Chinese ethical thoughts. So, in this sense this dissertation employs a perspective of comprehensive, critical, and constructive as well.