From Ferguson to Smith:

Moral Philosophy in Christian Garveʼs Anmerkungen

Abstract

Abstract： This paper clarifies the story of Christian Garveʼs annotation （Anmerkungen des Ueberset-zers）, which was attached to his translation into German of Adam Fergusonʼs Institutes of Moral Philosophy. Previous studies have indicated the importance of the annotation in light of Schiller and Hegel having read it while young, but few studies refer to its content. Garve has always been compared with famous philosophers rather than considered as a thinker in his own right. This paper, however, treats his annotation not as a mere explanation of an orig-inal text, but as revealing Garve's own moral philosophy. Without the annotation, the spread of Institutes in Germany would have been considerably diminished. 　　Garveʼs annotation has several features. First, he places the utmost importance on the in-dependence of human action. Human beings should strive for moral perfection. The discus-sion on the distinction between humans and animals is symbolic of this matter. Second, Garve interprets carefully the difference of the meaning of words in German and English. This interpretation reveals that, as an Enlightenment philosopher, he was conscious of his readers. Third, the annotation shows the influence of Adam Smith's moral philosophy. We can find this in the discussion on “public repute” and “human right.” Fourth, like Ferguson, Garve thinks that human progress towards moral perfection is supported by the goodness of God. 　　The most essential feature is the first one. The main context for Garve's moral philoso-phy is the description of human progress towards moral perfection. This accounts for the im-pression it made on the young Schiller. The third point is also very important, however, be-cause it hints at the direction of Garve's career, which extends to the translation of Smithʼs Wealth of Nations. JEL classification numbers: B12, B31.