A System of Moral Philosophy, published posthumously in 1755, is the most comprehensive work by influential Scottish Enlightenment philosopher Francis Hutcheson. This two-volume treatise meticulously outlines Hutcheson's core ideas on ethics, natural law, and political theory. It elaborates on his famous moral sense theory, arguing that humans possess an innate capacity to perceive moral good and that virtue is fundamentally rooted in disinterested benevolence.
The work further examines natural rights, obligations, and principles for civil government grounded in human sociability and consent. Notably, the treatise also makes a pioneering contribution to animal ethics, asserting that nonhuman animals have a right not to suffer needlessly. As a central figure who taught Adam Smith and influenced thinkers like David Hume, Hutcheson laid significant groundwork for later utilitarian thought.