在蘇格蘭啓蒙思想家中，弗格森的聲望和原創力雖然比休謨和亞當斯密略遜一籌，但他在社會理論方面的學說體系最爲完整，涵蓋面也最廣，而且在某些特定議題上有獨特而突出的貢獻。例如關於社會成立的基礎，弗格森對契約論和效益論有犀利而深刻的批評，而且強調人性的動態和主動的特質，與亞里斯多德以來的自然主義傳統有所區別。有關社會發展和變遷問題，他並不採取直線進步的觀點而認爲原始人類在才能、品德、情感各方面和現代人並無根本差異。他也強調衝突和戰爭在社會發展上的作用，並指出社會行爲有非意圖後果的特性，這些都是極具洞識的覯察。更重要的是他對現代商業化社會的腐化趨勢有精闢的分析，特別指出職業分化與勞力分工會導致社會凝聚力與公共精神的喪失，同時也警覺到現代國家有走向專制和政治奴役的危險。他在這方面的學說對當前有關的討論最具意義和啓發性。

Among the thinkers of the Scottish Enlightenment, Adam Fergu­son stands next to David Hume and Adam Smith as one of the most eminent. Though not as original and influential as his two contempo­raries, Ferguson has made lasting contributions to sociology compa­rable to those of Hume to philosophy and of Smith to economics. His An Essay on the History of Civil Society and other writings contain a comprehensive and systematic treatment of the social world which was crucial for the rise of social theory in the eighteenth century. Fer­guson sharply critizes the contractarian and the utilitarian theories of the foundation of society. He also differs from the naturalistic view of the Aristotelian tradition by emphasizing the active and dynamic nature of man so that not only the unity but also the diversity of human societies can be explained. He does not share the progres­sivist view of history of the French philosophes, maintaining that the primitive people are as intelligent and talented as the modern man. Ferguson's observations on the role and function of war and conflict in social evolution and on the unintended consequences of social ac­tion are incisive and stimulating. His analysis of the negative social effects of the division of labour and his warning about the corruption and decline of modern society also have considerable relevance for contemporary social and political discourses.