Ferguson, Adam 1723-1816
Scottish philosopher and historian

Born in Logierait, Perthshire, he studied at St Andrews University, and served as a Black Watch chaplain before settling in Edinburgh, where he became Professor of Natural Philosophy (1759) and then of Moral Philosophy (1764). He travelled to Philadelphia, America, as secretary to the 1778-79 commission sent by Lord North to negotiate with the American colonists. A member of the Scottish 'Common Sense' school of philosophy, together with Thomas Reid and Dugald Stewart, his works include The History of the Progress and Termination of the Roman Republic (1783) and Principles of Moral and Political Science (1792). His Essay on the History of Civil Society (1767) was a major contribution to political thought. Underlining the necessity and fact of conflict in society, it influenced Hegel, Schiller and Karl Marx. It has been credited with an influence on the Greek revival, with planting the seed of sociology, and with articulating decisively the problem called 'alienation'.