A Theory of Moral Outrage: Indignation and Eighteenth-century British Abolitionism

Indignation was an essential but neglected affective component of British abolitionism. Thomas Clarkson, William Wilberforce and other opponents of the slave trade appealed to indignation in order to arouse public support for abolition. They drew upon prevailing understandings of indignation as a moral sentiment related to, but distinct from, benevolent feelings such as sympathy. According to moral sense theorists like Thomas Hutcheson and Adam Smith, sympathy for victims inspired righteous indignation against victimizers. This in turn promoted political reform. The essay traces philosophical connections between sympathy and indignation, and then explores how abolitionists successfully inspired righteous indignation against planters, slave traders and their apologists.