Author Description

The fame of thinkers such as David Hume, Adam Smith and Thomas Reid has led to philosophy being widely acknowledged as the jewel in the intellectual crown of the Scottish Enlightenment. But the Scottish tradition of philosophy extends much further than the 18th century. Its origins are to be found in the Middle Ages when Scotland's ancient universities were founded, and its central themes continued to be explored well into the twentieth century. This collection of readings, the first of its kind, has been chosen with a view to displaying the variety, richness and strength of the Scottish philosophical tradition. Beginning with the Philosophical Theses of Gershom Carmichael, the first person in Scotland to hold a University Chair expressly devoted to philosophy, the extracts offer readers an entry to the examination of topics as diverse as the nature of laughter, the possibility of miracles, and the foundations of psychology.