The Scottish Philosophy
Biographical, Expository, Critical, from Hutcheson to Hamilton

A history of Scottish philosophy, focusing on the influential philosophers of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, first published in 1875.

James McCosh (Author)

9781108040860, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 22 December 2011

494 pages
21.6 x 14 x 2.8 cm, 0.62 kg

James McCosh (1811–94), the Scottish philosopher, graduated from the University of Glasgow, spent some time as a minister in the Church of Scotland but then returned to philosophy and spent most of his career at Princeton University. The eighteenth-century Scottish Enlightenment had many influential philosophers at its core. In this book, first published in 1875, McCosh outlines the theories of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century philosophers and identifies Scottish philosophy as a distinct school of thought. He summarises both the merits and the possible criticisms of each philosopher's work and also gives detailed biographical information. Among the philosophers discussed are the influential David Hume, Thomas Reid and Adam Smith. The final chapter focuses on Sir William Hamilton, a philosopher who greatly influenced McCosh (whose other works, The Religious Aspect of Evolution and The Method of the Divine Government are also reissued in this series).

Prefatory note
1. Characteristics of the school
2. State of Scotland
3. Precursors of the school
4. Shaftesbury, 1671–1713
5. Gershom Carmichael, 1672–1729
6. Andrew Baxter, 1686–1750
7. Francis Hutcheson, 1694–1746
8. Religious conflicts - Ralph Erskine
9. Archibald Campbell, died 1756
10. Alexander Moncrieff, died 1761
11. Rise of the Aberdeen Branch
12. George Turnbull, 1698–1748
13. David Fordyce, 1711–51
14. William Duncan, 1717–60
15. John Stevenson, 1694–1775
16. Sir John Pringle, 1707–82
17. Thomas Boston
18. David Dudgeon, 1706–43
19. David Hume, 1711–76
20. Books advertised in 'Scot's Magazine'
21. Adam Smith, 1723–90
22. Henry Home (Lord Kames), 1696–1782
23. American philosophy - John Witherspoon, 1722–94
24. James Balfour, 1705–95
25. Alexander Gerard, 1728–95
26. Thomas Reid, 1710–96
27. The Aberdeen Philosophical Society
28. James Oswald, died 1793
29. James Beattie, 1735–1802
30. George Campbell, 1719–96
31. James Burnett (Lord Monboddo), 1714–99
32. Adam Ferguson, 1723–1816
33. James Hutton, 1726–97
34. John Gregory, 1724–73
35. James Gregory, 1753–1821
36. Alexander Crombie, 1760–1842
37. Archibald Arthur, 1774–97
38. John Bruce, 1744–1826
39. Review of the century
40. Dugald Stewart, 1753–1828
41. William Lawrence Brown, 1735–1830
42. Archibald Alison, 1757–1839
43. George Jardine, 1742–1827
44. Thomas Brown, 1778–1820
45. Francis Jeffrey, 1773–1850
46. Sir James Mackintosh, 1765–1832
47. Henry Lord Brougham, 1779–1868
48. James Mylne, died 1839
49. John Young, 1781–1829
50. William Cairns, 1780–1848
51. James Mill, 1773–1836
52. John Ballantyne, 1778–1830
53. Thomas Chalmers, 1780–1847
54. John Abercrombie, 1780–1844
55. David Welsh, 1793–1845
56. John Wilson, 1785–1853
57. Sir William Hamilton, 1791–1856
58. The metaphysics of the future
Appendix
Index.

Subject Areas: History of Western philosophy [HPC]