The Reidian Foundations of James Wilson's Political Philosophy

• In Event: Themes in 18th Century Political Thought

Abstract

Founding Father James Wilson’s greatest work Lectures on Law offers an alternative interpretation of America’s founding, and how American citizens should understand the important role they play in civil government. Integral to Wilson’s argument is his philosophical Reidianism underlying his interpretation of the Founding. The literature on Wilson to date remains strongly divided regarding how best to interpret Wilson’s Lectures and thereby his political thought. Some scholars claim Wilson as a liberal Lockean rationalist, while others construe him as a modern eclectic of Christian natural-law theory, Scottish sentimentalism, and liberal republicanism. To provide clarity within the literature, I argue that Wilson’s Lectures reflects his strong devotion to the philosophy of Thomas Reid. Comparing Reid’s philosophical works with Wilson’s Lectures on Law and other writings, I demonstrate that Wilson, far from being characterized as an eclectic thinker, was actually a devoted philosophical Reidian adopting significant portions of Reid’s philosophy, including Reid’s epistemology, philosophical psychology, moral science, theory of language, and metaphysics. A philosophical Reidian lens provides the best interpretation of and better explanation for several of Wilson’s important political ideas such as popular sovereignty, natural duties, and the natural right to character, as well as his major contributions to the Constitution.

Author

• David Ferkaluk