Gordon Graham

This paper aims to integrate themes taken from Francis Hutcheson, Adam Ferguson and John Millar into a unified normative/explanatory conception of the essential elements of social order. Hutcheson invokes the phenomenon of natural sociability to counter Hobbesian egoism. Ferguson’s Essay on the History of Civil Society identifies the role that natural animosity plays in determining political identity. Taken together, these contrasting natural inclinations provide an interesting and plausible account of the basis and identity of a society. They offer little illumination on the distribution of power and authority within a society, however. This is a topic John Millar addresses in The Origin of the Distinction of Ranks, a work that has not received much attention. It can be drawn on to good effect in supplementing the Scottish philosophical alternative to Hobbes, even if, in the end, the question of political authority remains unanswered.

The fame of thinkers such as David Hume, Adam Smith and Thomas Reid has led to philosophy being widely acknowledged as the jewel in the intellectual crown of the Scottish Enlightenment. But the Scottish tradition of philosophy extends much further than the 18th century. Its origins are to be found in the Middle Ages when Scotland's ancient universities were founded, and its central themes continued to be explored well into the twentieth century. This collection of readings, the first of its kind, has been chosen with a view to displaying the variety, richness and strength of the Scottish philosophical tradition. Beginning with the Philosophical Theses of Gershom Carmichael, the first person in Scotland to hold a University Chair expressly devoted to philosophy, the extracts offer readers an entry to the examination of topics as diverse as the nature of laughter, the possibility of miracles, and the foundations of psychology.

Alexander Bain not only founded _Mind_ and recruited its first editor but he also contributed many papers, reviews, and discussions over the first fifteen years of its existence. Bain’s contributions explore issues in philosophy and psychology with equal expertise. They reveal him to be an informed, critical, and able thinker building on lines of thought that began with Hume’s empiricism and Bentham’s ethics. This chapter surveys and evaluates Bain’s principal papers under three general headings—empiricism, mind and body, ethics and moral psychology. It concludes that despite their many merits, Bain’s investigations rested on assumptions that were antithetical to his philosophical presuppositions.

This chapter investigates the question of how a “philosophy” of emerging technologies should be conceived. Part 1 distinguishes between prediction and explanation as the end goal of such a philosophy, and explores empirical social science and idealist philosophy as alternative approaches to explanation. It uses the basic ideas of actor network theory to uncover weaknesses in both. Part 2 sets out a third possibility, namely the empirical-cum-normative philosophical method that underlies the writings of two foundational figures in the history of the social sciences—the Scottish Enlightenment philosophers Adam Smith and Adam Ferguson. Part 3 applies this method to the philosophy of technology, and introduces the concept of “transformative technologies.” Part 4 considers briefly the extent to which the “emergent media” of the present time could be regarded as transformative.

This chapter discusses four principal themes of Scottish aesthetics over the course of the eighteenth century. The first is the question of ‘taste’ and its relation to the perception and reality of beauty. Does beauty exist independently of its being perceived, or is it in some sense the product of our perception? The second is the matter of aesthetic criticism. Can aesthetic judgements be rational, and if so on what basis? The third main topic is the rhetorical use of language. Is oratory an art? If it is, how does rhetoric relate to literary and poetic language, to the expression of thought and the cogency of argument? Finally, is there something to be learned on these subjects from the study of the origins of language? On each of these topics, the Scottish philosophers had interesting, insightful, and in some cases enduringly important things to say.

'It's all in the genes'. Is this true, and if so, _what_ is all in the genes? _Genes: A Philosophical Inquiry_ is a crystal clear and highly informative guide to a debate none of us can afford to ignore. Beginning with a much-needed overview of the relationship between science and technology, Gordon Graham lucidly explains and assesses the most important and controversial aspects of the genes debate: Darwinian theory and its critics, the idea of the 'selfish' gene, evolutionary psychology, memes, genetic screening and modification, including the risks of cloning and 'designer' babies. He considers areas often left out of the genes debate, such as the environmental risks of genetic engineering and how we should think about genes in the wider context of debates on science, knowledge and religion. Gordon Graham asks whether genetic engineering might be introducing God back into the debate and whether the risks of a brave new genetic world outweigh the potential benefits. Essential reading for anyone interested in science, technology, and philosophy, _Genes: A Philosophical Inquiry_ is ideal for those wanting to find out more about the ethical implications of genetics and the future of biotechnology.

_Philosophy of the Arts_ presents a comprehensive and accessible introduction to those coming to aesthetics and the philosophy of art for the first time. The third edition is greatly enhanced with new chapters on art and beauty, the performing arts and modern art, and there are new sections on Aristotle, Hegel and Nietzsche. The remaining chapters have been thoroughly revised and extended. This new edition: is jargon-free and will appeal to students of music, art history, literature and theatre studies as well as philosophy looks at a wide range of the arts from film, painting and architecture to literature, music, dance and drama discusses the philosophical theories of major thinkers including Aristotle, Hume, Hegel, Nietzsche, Croce, Collingwood, Gadamer and Derrida includes regular summaries and suggestions for further reading.

_The Internet: A Philosophical Inquiry_ develops many of the themes Gordon Graham presented in his highly successful radio series, _The Silicon Society_. Exploring the tensions between the warnings of the Neo-Luddites and the bright optimism of the Technophiles, Graham offers the first concise and accessible exploration of the issues which arise as we enter further into the world of Cyberspace. This original and fascinating study takes us to the heart of questions that none of us can afford to ignore: how does the Internet affect our concepts of identity, moral anarchy, censorship, community, democracy, virtual reality and imagination? Free of jargon and full of stimulating ideas, this is essential reading for anyone wishing to think clearly and informatively about the complexities of our technological future.

This paper highlights a notable deficiency in recent histories of philosophy in America, namely their neglect of the substantial contribution that Scottish philosophers made to philosophical thought in America both before and after the Revolution. This neglect, it is argued, can be explained by the contempt with which the ‘Scottish School of Common Sense’ came to be regarded, and which is reflected in earlier histories. The paper lays out the grounds on which both contempt and neglect must be judged unwarranted. It thereby establishes the foundation on which a new and better history needs to be written.

What is the role of political theory in the real world of politics? Opinions have varied about this, ranging from Plato’s arguments for philosopher‐kings to Marx’s relegation of political philosophy to the realms of mere ideology. This paper contrasts the competing claims of intellectualism vs pragmatism in politics. It explores the ends/means relation as one account of how ideas and actions might be connected. This relation is found to be inadequate, and with it the more ambitious claims of intellectualism. But an argument is advanced for the qualification of pragmatism with a more modest account of the role of ideas in politics.

ABSTRACT Political liberalism and the democratic ideal together supply the foundation of almost all contemporary political thinking. This essay explores the relation between them. It argues that, despite common parlance, there is an inevitable tension between the two. Furthermore, attempts to resolve this tension by showing that democracy is a good thing in its own right, or that it is the inevitable development of liberal aspirations, or that it is conceptually connected to fundamental liberal ideas, all fail. The conclusion to be drawn is that liberalism requires a pragmatic rather than a principled approach to democratic aspirations.

Research assessment exercises, teaching quality assessment, line management, staff appraisal, student course evaluation, modularization, student fees — these are all names of innovations (and problems) in modern British universities. How far do they reflect a more conscientious approach to the effective promotion of higher education, and how far do they constitute a significant departure from traditional academic concerns and values? Using some themes of Cardinal Newman's classic _The Idea of a University_ as a springboard, this extended essay aims to address these questions.