The Origin of the Distinction of Ranks : Or, an Inquiry Into the Circumstances Which Give Rise to Influence and Authority, in the Different Members of Society

John Millar

ISBN 10: 0865974764 / ISBN 13: 9780865974760

Published by Liberty Fund Feb 2006, 2006

About this Item

Neuware - This is one of the major products of the Scottish Enlightenment and a masterpiece of jurisprudence and social theory. Building on David Hume, Adam Smith, and their respective natural histories of man, John Millar developed a progressive account of the nature of authority in society by analysing changes in subsistence, agriculture, arts, and manufacture. 'The Origin of the Distinction of Ranks' is perhaps the most precise and compact development of the abiding themes of the liberal wing of the Scottish Enlightenment. Drawing on Smith's four-stages theory of history and the natural law's traditional division of domestic duties into those toward servants, children, and women, Millar provides a rich historical analysis of the ways in which progressive economic change transforms the nature of authority. In particular, he argues that, with the progress of arts and manufacture, authority tends to become less violent and concentrated, and ranks tend to diversify.

Seller Inventory # 9780865974760

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Origin of the Distinction of Ranks : Or, an Inquiry Into the Circumstances Which Give Rise to Influence and Authority, in the Different Members of Society
• Publisher: Liberty Fund Feb 2006
• Publication Date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0865974764
• ISBN 13: 9780865974760
• Binding: Buch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 236W x 156H x 30D millimeters 236 millimeters width by 156 millimeters height by 30 millimeters depth
• Weight: 722 grams

About this title

Synopsis

This is one of the major products of the Scottish Enlightenment and a masterpiece of jurisprudence and social theory. Building on David Hume, Adam Smith, and their respective natural histories of man, John Millar developed a progressive account of the nature of authority in society by analysing changes in subsistence, agriculture, arts, and manufacture. 'The Origin of the Distinction of Ranks' is perhaps the most precise and compact development of the abiding themes of the liberal wing of the Scottish Enlightenment. Drawing on Smith's four-stages theory of history and the natural law's traditional division of domestic duties into those toward servants, children, and women, Millar provides a rich historical analysis of the ways in which progressive economic change transforms the nature of authority. In particular, he argues that, with the progress of arts and manufacture, authority tends to become less violent and concentrated, and ranks tend to diversify.

About the Author

John Millar's works brilliantly explore the nature of English governance through a prism of the natural law tradition and Scottish philosophical history. Millar was a student of Adam Smith's at Glasgow University and his most important immediate intellectual heir. His works provide an essential linkage to Smith.