FERGUSON, ADAM (1723-1816), Scottish philosopher and historian, was born at Logierait, Perthshire, and educated at Perth grammar school and the University of St. Andrews. In 1745, he was appointed deputy chaplain of the 43rd (afterwards the 42nd) regiment (the Black Watch), and at the battle of Fontenoy (1745) he fought in the ranks. Having abandoned the clerical profession, in 1757 he succeeded David Hume as librarian to the faculty of advocates, but soon became tutor in the family of Lord Bute.
In 1759 Ferguson was appointed professor of natural philo sophy at Edinburgh, and in 1764 of "pneumatics" (mental philo sophy) "and moral philosophy." Subsequently his chief publica tions were: Essay on the History of Civil Society (1767), an anonymous pamphlet on the American revolution (1776), and a History of the Progress and Termination of the Roman Republic (1783), which passed through several editions. After resigning his professorship in 1785, he devoted himself to the revision of his lectures, which he published (1792) as Principles of Moral and Political Science. He died at St. Andrews on Feb. 22, 1816.
Ferguson's ethical speculations were carefully criticized by Cousin (see his Cours d'histoire de la philosophie morale au dix huitieme siecle, pt. ii., 1839-40) : "We find in his method the wisdom and circumspection of the Scottish school, with something more masculine and decisive in the results. The principle of per fection is a new one, at once more rational and comprehensive than benevolence and sympathy, which in our view places Ferguson as a moralist above all his predecessors." See Biographical Sketch by J. Small (1864) ; Public Characters (1799-180o) ; Chambers's Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Scots men; J. McCosh, The Scottish Philosophy