s compounded of two Greek words signifying the love of mankind. It is therefore of nearly the same import with benevolence, and differs from friendship, as the latter affection subsists only between a few individuals, whereas philanthropy comprehends the whole human race.

Whether man has an instinctive propensity to love his species, which makes him incapable of happiness except in the midst of society, and impels him to do all the good that he can to others, feeling their felicity an addition to his own, is a question which has been warmly debated amongst philosophers ever since metaphysics was studied as a science. See Metaphysics and Moral Philosophy.