Memoirs of William Hazlitt
Ch. XII 1812
Plan of William Hazlitt’s lectures at the Russell Institution; 26 December 1811
“Russell Institution,
“Dec. 26th, 1811.
“On Tuesday, the 14th of January, 1812, at this
Institution, Mr. Hazlitt will commence a
course of Lectures on the rise and progress of modern philosophy, containing an
historical and critical account of the principal writers who have treated on
moral and metaphysical subjects, from the time of Lord Racon to the present
day. The Lectures will be on the following Subjects:—
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* There is no record of any preceding sitting on the
subject.
† The date does not appear on the minutes.
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“Lecture I. On the writings of Hobbes, showing that he was the father of the
modern system of philosophy.
“Lecture II. On Locke’s ‘Essay on the Human Understanding;’ or the formation of ideas
in general.
“Lecture III. On Berkeley’s principles of human knowledge, and on the
nature of abstraction.
“Lecture IV. On Self-Love.
“Lecture V. Same subject continued, with an account
of the writings of Hartley and Helvetius.
“Lecture VI. On Bishop
Butler’s theory of man, on the love of happiness, the love
of action, and the human conduct.
“Lectures VII. and VIII. On the writers on Liberty
and Necessity, and on Materialism.
“Lecture IX. On the Theory of Language; as treated by
Horne Tooke, by the author of ‘Hermes,’ and Lord Monboddo.
“Lecture X. On Natural Religion.
“Tickets of admission, to persons not being
proprietors of the institution, two guineas. To any member of the family of a
proprietor or subscriber to the lectures, one guinea. The lectures to begin at
eight in the evening, and to be continued weekly.”
George Berkeley, bishop of Cloyne (1685-1753)
Bishop of Cloyne and philosopher; author of
A New Theory of Vision
(1709, 1710, 1732),
A Treatise concerning the Principles of Human
Knowledge (1710, 1734), and
Three Dialogues between Hylas and
Philonous (1713, 1725, 1734).
James Burnett, Lord Monboddo (1714-1799)
Scottish jurist and philosopher; author of
Origin and Progress of Man
and Language (6 vols, 1773-1792).
Joseph Butler, bishop of Durham (1692-1752)
English physico-theologian; he was author of the
Analogy of
Religion (1736); he was dean of St. Paul's (1740) and bishop of Durham
(1750).
James Harris (1709-1780)
English philosopher and man of letters, friend of Fielding, John Upton, and the Wartons;
author of
Hermes, or, A Philosophical Inquiry Concerning Universal
Grammar (1751).
David Hartley (1705-1757)
English philosopher and physician educated at Jesus College, Cambridge; he published
Observations on Man, his Frame, his Duty, and his Expectations
(1749).
William Hazlitt (1778-1830)
English essayist and literary critic; author of
Characters of
Shakespeare's Plays (1817),
Lectures on the English Poets
(1818), and
The Spirit of the Age (1825).
Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)
English political philosopher and man of letters; author of
Leviathan (1651) and other works.
John Locke (1632-1704)
English philosopher; author of
Essay concerning Human
Understanding (1690) and
Some Thoughts Concerning Education
(1695).
John Horne Tooke (1736-1812)
Philologist and political radical; member of the Society for Constitutional Information
(1780); tried for high treason and acquitted (1794).
