Did Adam Ferguson Inspire Friedrich Schiller’s Philosophy of Play? An Exercise in Tracking the Itinerary of an Idea

Abstract

This essay assesses the possible impact of the Scottish Enlightenment philosopher Adam Ferguson on Friedrich Schiller's political thought. Tracing Schiller's reading of Ferguson and his direct citations, possible paraphrases and other fingerprints of Ferguson's texts, alongside supporting evidence from other contemporary and biographical sources, the essay attempts to establish evidence for a possible impact of Ferguson's thought about man's active nature and social virtues on Schiller's philosophy, in particular his idea of Spieltrieb (play-drive). The purpose is threefold: to explore a hitherto neglected path of Scottish-German reception, to highlight the importance of the concept of Play in Enlightenment discourse, and to offer a possible model for tracing intellectual and discursive impact between thinkers and across languages and cultures.