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Dugald Stewart, 1753-1828.

Portrait of D. Stewart

Scottish Enlightenment philosopher.

Born in Edinburgh, Dugald Steward was the son of Matthew Stewart, a professor of mathematics at the University of Edinburgh.  Dugald studied mathematics at his father's university in Edinburgh, where he learned moral philosophy and economics from Adam Ferguson.  But of perhaps greater impact was one year (1771) Dugald spent at the University of Glasgow, where he came under the influence of Thomas Reid and Adam Smith. Dugald Stewart would go on to become a faithful promoter of their theories.

Stewart's interest in moral philosophy and economics was initially put on hold, as he returned to Edinburgh in 1772 to take over his ailing father's mathematics classes.  Stewart was elected to the chair in mathematics in 1775, and continued to teach the subject for the next ten years.  But Dugald Stewart eventually went on to succeed Adam Ferguson in the Chair of Moral Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh in 1785.   Stewart would teach moral philosophy at Edinburgh until his retirement in 1809, and spent his ample remaining years putting out editions of his works on moral philosophy.

Dugald Stewart's principal work is his  Elements of the Philosophy of the Human Mind, which came out in three widely-spaced volumes over the course of his career (v.1 in 1792, v.2 in 1814 and v.3 in 1827).

Dugald Stewart had a long and highly influential tenure as moral philosophy professor.  Stewart was possibly the first academic to teach a university course explicitly dedicated to political economy (in 1799-1800, lecture notes published posthumously in 1855-56). Among Dugald Stewart's notable students were utilitarian radicals like James Mill and Joseph Hume, the Edinburgh Review gang (Sydney Smith, Francis Jeffrey, Francis Horner, Henry Brougham, Macvey Napier), and several prominent liberal Whig politicians, like Henry Petty Fitzmaurice (Marquis of Lansdowne), Lord John Russell and Henry John Temple (Viscount Palmerston). 

Dugald Stewart's principal follower, the philosopher Sir William Hamilton, put out an edition of his collected works in 1854-58. .

 

  

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Major Works of Dugald Stewart

  • Elements of the Philosophy of the Human Mind, v.1, 1792. [bk] [1802 2nd ed], [1808 3rd ed],  [1829 Works ed.v.1, v.2 , v.3], [1854 CW ed, v.2, v.3,  v.4] [1863 abridged Bowen ed. bk, moa]
  • Outlines of Moral Philosophy, 1793. [1801 2nd ed]  [1829 Works, ed. v.3, p.371]
  • "Account of the Life and Writings of Adam Smith, L.L.D.," (read 1793, pub. 1794), Trans of Royal Soc of Edinburgh, (v.3),  p.55 [1795 Smith's Essays ed] [1811 Memoirs ed], [1829 Works  v.7][1858 CW, v.10], [McM] [pdf]
  • "Account of the Life and Writings of William Robertson, D.D., F.R.S.E.", 1801 [bk]
  • "Account of the Life and Writings of Thomas Reid, D.D., F.R.S.E.", 1803 [bk]
  • A Short Statement of Some Important Facts Relative to the Late Election of a Mathematical Professor in the University of Edinburgh, 1805 [bk]
  • Post-Script to Mr. Stewart's Short Statement of Facts relative to the election of Professor Leslie, 1806 [bk]
  • Philosophical Essays, 1810. [bk] [1829 Works, v.4], [1855 CW, v.5]
  • Biographical Memoirs, 1811 [bk] [1829, Works, v.7], [1858, CW, v.10],
  • Elements of the Philosophy of the Human Mind, v.2, 1814 [bk]
  • "Dissertation First - The Progress of Metaphysical, Ethical, and Political Philosophy since the Revival of Letters", 1815-16, Supplement to the Fourth and Fifth Editions of the Encyclopaedia Britannica (First Dissertation)
  • "Dissertation First - The Progress of Metaphysical, Ethical, and Political Philosophy since the Revival of Letters, Part II", 1821, Supplement to the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Editions of the Encyclopaedia Britannica [1824 Encyclopaedia ed. v.5] [1822 ed., Pt.1, Pt.2], [1826 Works ed, v.6]
  • Elements of the Philosophy of the Human Mind, vol. III, 1827 [bk]
  • The Philosophy of the Active and Moral Powers of Man, 1828, v.1, v.2 [1829 Works ed. v.5] [1855 CW, v.6, v.7][moa]
  • Works of Dugald Stewart, 1829, v.1, v.2 , v.3, v.4, v.5, v.6, v.7
  • Lectures on Political Economy,  1855-56 (two vols) [first pub. in CW, v.8, v.9], [Lib]
  • Collected Works Dugald Stewart, 1854 (Hamilton ed.) 1854: v.1, v.2, v.3,  v.4, 1855: v.5, v.6, v.7, v.8 1856, v.9 1858: v.10

 
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Resources on Dugald Stewart

 

 
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