The Tradition of Scottish Philosophy: A New Perspective on the Enlightenment

Many previous works on Scottish Philosophy have tended to concentrate exclusively on the Scottish Enlightenment. Yet, two and a half centuries prior to that period, a circle of Scottish philosophers gained Europe-wide appreciation for their work. This study attempts to correct this bias in the history of thought. Broadie looks at the evolution of the subject from the beginning of the sixteenth-century in Scotland. He relates ideas and concerns in philosophy previous to the Enlightenment to those which followed, thereby revealing important similarities between the two. This is done in a highly accessible manner which makes these ideas available to the general reader for the first time. Contents: Introduction; The Mirror of Wisdom: R Philosophy in the Scots Tongue; The Circle of John Mair; Knowledge; Ways of Saying ’Yes’; Freewill and Grace; The Post-Medieval Period; A Science of Human Nature; The Common Sense Reaction; Hume on Belief and Will; Conclusion; Notes; Bibliography; Index