{"product_id":"9781614871996","title":"Sketches of the History of Man: In Three Volumes","description":"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eHenry Home, Lord Kames, was by nature an advocate for reform and improvement and stood at the heart of the modernizing and liberalizing movement now known as the Scottish Enlightenment. The reaction to his\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eEssays on the Principles of Morality and Natural\u003cbr\u003eReligion\u003c\/em\u003e was a defining moment in the establishment of the predominance of moderation in the Church of\u003cbr\u003eScotland.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDivided into three books, Kames’s \u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSketches of the\u003cbr\u003eHistory of Man\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003edraws together the concerns of many of his earlier works. The first book considers man in the private sphere and presents Kames’s version of the\u003cbr\u003e“four-stage theory of history”: the progress, that is, from hunting, through “the shepherd state” to agriculture, and thence to commerce. It contains, in addition, sketches on progress in the arts, taste, manners, and appetite for luxury goods.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe second book takes as its subject man in the public sphere and explores the implications of his natural “appetite for society.” Kames develops the notion that political, legal, and financial institutions are best regulated when it is understood that they are outgrowths of aspects of human nature.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the final book, Kames turns to an account of progress in the sciences of logic, morals, and theology.\u003cbr\u003eHe seeks to vindicate the claim that “human understanding is in a progress towards maturity, however slow.” Throughout the entire work, Kames expounds on his fundamental hypothesis that at the beginning of the history of the human race, savagery was ubiquitous and that the human story is one of an emergence out of barbarism and toward maturity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHenry Home, Lord Kames\u003c\/strong\u003e (1696–1782), one of the leaders of the Scottish Enlightenment, was a judge in the supreme courts of Scotland and wrote extensively on morals, religion, education, aesthetics, history,\u003cbr\u003epolitical economy, and law, including natural law. His most distinctive contribution came through his works on the nature of law, where he sought to combine a philosophical approach with an empirical history of legal evolution.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJames Harris\u003c\/strong\u003e is a Lecturer in\u003cbr\u003ePhilosophy at the University of St.\u003cbr\u003eAndrews in Scotland.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKnud Haakonssen\u003c\/strong\u003e is Professor of Intellectual History and Director of the Centre for Intellectual History at the University of\u003cbr\u003eSussex, England.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Liberty Fund Inc.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47181258522864,"sku":"9781614871996","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781614871996_p0.jpg?v=1763849601","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781614871996","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}