Ferguson, an Edinburgh professor, rejects the idea of a solitary state of nature and studies humans as always social. He examines the principles of self-preservation, union and conflict, the rude nations and the rise of property, the arts and commerce, the effects of the division of labour, and the corruption and political slavery that threaten polished nations.
A classic of the Scottish Enlightenment and an early work of sociology, first published in 1767. Download the free EPUB.