Literati is what Hume, Smith and their circle called themselves. A group of thinkers who met in eighteenth-century Edinburgh and changed how the world thought. None of them knew, at the time, what they were starting.
This is a series in progress, with new pieces added as the work develops.
Hume · Smith · Ferguson · Reid · Henderson · Hutton · Others
The Desire To Be Loved, And To Be Lovely
We want approval from others, but also want to deserve it.
Productive vs. Unproductive Labour
Labour that lasts versus labour that vanishes; not a moral judgement.
Mutual Sympathy And Social Bonds
Empathy, not reason or religion, is what binds society together.