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Two Early Works by David Hartley STEPHEN FERG ALTHOUGH THE PHENOMENON of the association of ideas has been recognized at least since the time of Plato, it began to play an important role in philosophy and psychology only when Locke added the chapter "Of the Association of Ideas" to the fourth edition of his Essay concerning Human Understanding (1700). Locke's discussion gave this phenomenon the name by which it has come to be known, "the association of ideas," and brought it to general notice. Under the influence of Locke's Essay, philosophers paid increasing attention to association during the first half of the eighteenth century, a half-century which thus constitutes the period of the early development of the concept of the association of ideas. In this paper I shall be discussing two works on the association of ideas which appeared during this half-century. ~ Both works are anonymous; their title pages give no indication at all of the identity of their author(s). The first work is a pamphlet of 32 pages, published in 1741, beating the lengthy title: An Introduction towards an Essay on the Origin of the Passions, in which it is endeavoured to be shown how they are all acquired, and that they are no other than Associations of Ideas of our own making, or that we learn of others. 2 The second work is a book of 194 pages, divided into seven sections. It was published in 1747 and bore the similarly lengthy title: An Enquiry into the Origin of the Human Appetites and Affections, shewing how each arises from association, with an account of the entrance of moral evil into the world. To which are added some remarks on the independent scheme, which deduces all obligation on God's part and man's from certain abstract relations, truth, etc. 3 I would like to express my special thanks to Norman Kretzmann, of the CorneU Philosophy Department, for reading several earlier dralts of this paper, for his invaluable criticism, advice, and help, and for providing a model of excellence in scholarship. 2 "London: Printed for R. Dodsley, at Tully's Head in Pall Mall, and sold by T. Cooper, at the Globe in Paternoster Row," 1741. 3 "Lincoln: Printed by W. Wood, and sold by R. Dodsley at Tully's head in Pall-mall," 1747. For many years the Enquiry was available only in Samuel Parr's collection, MetaphysicalTractsby English Philosophersof the EighteenthCentury(London: Edward Lumley, 1837).Recently a facsimile of the first edition of the Enquiry has become available in Paul McReynolds, ed., Four Early Works on Motivation (Gainesville, Florida: Scholars' Facsimilies and Reprints, 1969; hereafter: "McReynolds"). A facsimile edition of Parr's collection has also recently been published by Georg Olms Veda.g, Hildesheim & New York, 1974. Throughout this paper I shall give references to the Enquiry by section and paragraph number. [173] 174 HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY I shall first show that the Introduction was intended, as its name indicates, to introduce a subsequent work, and that the work it was intended to introduce was the Enquiry. Both works, therefore, are by the same author. I shall then present evidence and arguments for ascribing these works to David Hartley. If my arguments for Hartley's authorship of these two works are sound, these two works will significantly increase the small number of works in Hartley's recognized philosophical corpus. Next, I shall argue that a substantial portion of the text of the Enquiry was composed before 1741, and that at least part of the text was composed before 1738. If my arguments concerning these dates are sound, the attribution of the Introduction and the Enquiry to Hartley could have important consequences for the study of the development of his thought, for these two works would become the only (recognized) substantial expression we have of Hartley's early philosophy. Finally, I shall propose an explanation of the fact that the Enquiry defends freedom of the will at a time (1747) when we know that Hartley accepted the necessitarian position on free will. I The author of the Introduction describes it as "a sketch of a work which probably some time hence will make its...

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