Sociological Thought in the Scottish Enlightenment

From the Critical Point of Selfish Theory

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to clarify the sociological thought in the Scottish Enlightenment. In order to approach this subject, it is necessary to analyze their moral philosophy, especially the critical point of selfish theory, of Scottish Enlightenment thinkers. They argued against Thomas Hobbes and Bernard Mandeville who developed moral principles and social theories from self-love. The Enlightenment thinkers developed their criticism of selfish theories from a sociological perspective. Therefore, we can use this criticism to examine the nature of their sociological thought. Further, this analysis makes a contribution to reconsidering modern society as an object of experience.