Locke, Shaftesbury, and Hutcheson

Daniel Carey examines afresh the fundamental debate within the Enlightenment about human diversity. Three central figures - Locke, Shaftesbury, and Hutcheson - questioned whether human nature was fragmented by diverse and incommensurable customs and beliefs or unified by shared moral and religious principles. Locke''s critique of innate ideas initiated the argument, claiming that no consensus exis...