In the Reflections, Hutcheson first makes observations on the effects of the current systems of morality, and then divides his discussion into two main parts: one dealing with moral motivation, the other with the precepts of morality. It will be convenient to follow this sequence.

The role of moral philosophy

It was a powerful attack on the writers on morality of his time that Hutcheson launched when he first appeared in print. Does this moral philosophy have a morally improving effect on those who study it? Does it enhance their sense of well-being? The answer to both questions, Hutcheson believed, must be negative. People who are unfamiliar with the systems of morality do not seem to be worse off, morally or psychologically.

Hutcheson obviously expected a great deal from the systems of morality. They ought to have an improving effect: a proper grasp of them should make a person psychologically more harmonious and morally more upright. If such beneficial effects were not discernible, one would suspect a defect in these systems. As we are told by his biographer William Leechman, he ‘regarded the culture of the heart as the end of all moral instruction’. The moralist has to engage more than the intellect of his audience.