A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature/Hutcheson, Francis
Hutcheson, Francis (1694-1746).—Philosopher, b. in Ireland, and ed. for the Presbyterian ministry at Glasgow Univ. After keeping an academy at Dublin for some years he pub. his Enquiry into Beauty and Virtue, which won for him a great reputation. In 1729 he became Prof. of Moral Philosophy at Glasgow, where he exercised a great influence over his students, and also upon the Scottish system of philosophy. In his philosophical views he was to some extent a disciple of Shaftesbury. He introduced the term, "moral sense," which he defined as a power of perceiving moral attributes in action. His System of Moral Philosophy appeared posthumously in two vols.