FERIANA - Remains of one of the basilicas (5th cent.).
In his general philosophical conceptions Ferguson aligned himself with the doctrine of T. Reid, but he developed an original system of moral and social philosophy aimed at a synthesis of the motives of egoism, altruism, and moral idealism. However, in his treatment of the problems of social life and the State, he also employed criteria and methods that anticipate the modern idea of empirical sociology and political science. In his extensive study of the history of the Roman Republic, he undertakes, in the spirit of these sciences, an analysis of the political and social institutions of ancient Rome.
Principal works: *Institute of moral philosophy* (Edinburgh 1769); *Principles of moral and political science* (2 vols., pt. 1, 1792); *History of the progress and the termination of the republic* (3 vols., London 1783).