The Utopian Dimension in the Philosophy of Social Betterment in the Scottish Enlightenment
Abstract: Social betterment can be thought of as the result of a conscious design for the reformation of human beings and human institutions or as an unintended consequence of human actions. The Scottish Enlightenment, generally adopting the latter understanding of social betterment, lacks a utopian dimension in its philosophy, it focuses on commerce as the main source of betterment, and population growth as the main source of measuring it.