Known today mainly as a teacher of Adam Smith (1723 90) and an influence on David Hume (1711 76), Francis Hutcheson (1694 1746) was a first-rate thinker whose work deserves study on its own merit. While his most important contribution to the history of ideas was likely his theory of an innate sense of morality, Hutcheson also wrote on a wide variety of other subjects, including art, psychology, law, politics, economics, metaphysics, and logic. Spanning his entire literary career, this collection brings together selections from Hutcheson's greater and lesser known works, including his youthful "Thoughts" (1725) on Thomas Hobbes (1588 1679) egoistic theory of laughter."