Scottish Common Sense in Germany, 1768-1800: A Contribution to the History of Critical Philosophy (Volume 11) (McGill-Queen's Studies in the History of Ideas)

Proponents of Scottish common-sense philosophy, especially Thomas Reid, James Oswald, and James Beattie, had a substantial influence on late enlightenment German philosophy. In this illuminating study Manfred Kuehn explores the nature and extent of that influence. He finds that the work of these philosophers was widely discussed in German philosophical journals and translated into German soon after its publication in Britain. Important German philosophers such as Mendelssohn, Lossius, Feder, Hamann, and Jacobi, representing the full range of philosophical positions, read the Scots and found valuable philosophical insights in their thought. Kuehn suggests that the most important aspect of their reading was the perception of Scottish common-sense philosophers as opposing Hume's scepticism while complementing his positive teaching. Their views gave considerable impetus to those developments in German thought that ultimately led to Kant's critical philosophy. In fact Kant, whose devastating criticism of the Scottish common-sense philosophers is often cited, learned much from the Scots, as his Critique of Pure Reason reveals. Kuehn's analysis of the Scottish influence provides a new perspective on the German enlightenment and Kant's role within it, revealing the importance of problems of idealism versus realism and of philosophical justification versus mere descriptive metaphysics Foreword......Page 2 Introduction......Page 5 1. The Nature of Scottish Common-Sense Philosophy......Page 15 2. The Philosophical Situation in Germany after 1755......Page 38 3. The First Reception of "Reid, Oswald, and Beattie" in Germany......Page 54 4. The Scots in Gottingen......Page 72 5. Scottish Common Sense and German Sensationism......Page 88 6. Scottish Common Sense and German Metaphysics......Page 105 7. Scottish Common Sense and Tetens's Analysis of Thought in Perception......Page 121 8. Scottish Common Sense and the German Counter-Enlightenment......Page 143 9. "Reid, Oswald, and Beattie" and Kant......Page 169 10. Scottish Common Sense and the Reception of Kant's Critical Philosophy......Page 210 Conclusion......Page 240 Appendix: Common Sense in the German Background......Page 252 Bibliography of Works Cited......Page 276 Index......Page 295 "Kuehn's analysis of the Scottish influence provides a new perspective on the German enlightenment and Kant's role within it, revealing the importance of problems of idealism versus realism and of philosophical justification versus mere descriptive metaphysics."--Jacket

Proponents of Scottish common-sense philosophy, especially Thomas Reid, James Oswald, and James Beattie, had substantial influence on late enlightenment German philosophy. Kuehn explores the nature and extent of that influence.