Project Gutenberg 2005-08-01 Public domain in the USA. 101 Ferguson, Adam 1723 1816 An Essay on the History of Civil Society, Eighth Edition Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Essay_on_the_History_of_Civil_Society Produced by Stan Goodman, William Craig, Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team "An Essay on the History of Civil Society" by Adam Ferguson is a philosophical work written during the 18th century. This essay explores the development of human societies and the principles underlying civil society, examining topics such as human nature, social structures, and moral sentiments. Ferguson delves into the evolution of man from a state of nature to organized societies, investigating how individual characteristics and societal factors interact to shape civilization. The opening of the essay begins with an exploration of the state of nature, contrasting ideas about human characteristics in their primitive conditions versus their developed states. Ferguson posits that mankind has transitioned from a rudimentary existence to one characterized by civilization, emphasizing the importance of societal bonds and moral sentiments in human development. He critiques various theories that attempt to define human nature based strictly on speculation or conjecture, advocating instead for a focus on observable human behaviors and historical facts. Ferguson argues that individual and collective experiences within society are crucial to understanding humanity, setting the stage for a broader discussion about the consequences of civil and commercial arts on nations. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 44.2 (College-level). Difficult to read. en Civilization -- History Civil society -- History CB Text Category: History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750) Category: Philosophy & Ethics 696272 2025-07-04T06:32:15.106839 text/html 696093 2025-01-11T21:41:11.106779 text/html 338808 2025-07-04T06:32:24.005799 application/epub+zip 347618 2025-07-04T06:32:18.435852 application/epub+zip 312245 2025-07-04T06:32:17.248836 application/epub+zip 672257 2025-07-04T06:32:28.904785 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 628585 2025-07-04T06:32:23.214875 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 571999 2022-09-04T11:18:59.646688 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 663463 2025-07-04T06:32:14.686885 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 658590 2021-01-02T09:40:11 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 17641 2025-07-04T06:32:29.020774 application/rdf+xml 20319 2025-07-04T06:32:17.735825 image/jpeg 4343 2025-07-04T06:32:17.491820 image/jpeg 234453 2021-01-02T09:40:11 application/octet-stream application/zip 333247 2025-07-04T06:32:15.161855 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia