Description
Book SynopsisCommon Sense and Science from Aristotle to Reid reveals that thinkers have pondered the nature of common sense and its relationship to science and scientific thinking for a very long time. It demonstrates how a diverse array of neglected early modern thinkers turn out to have been on the right track for understanding how the mind makes sense of the world and how basic features of the human mind and cognition are related to scientific theory and practice. Drawing on a wealth of primary sources and scholarship from the history of ideas, cognitive science, and the history and philosophy of science, this book helps readers understand the fundamental historical and philosophical relationship between common sense and science.
Trade Review“Redekop does an excellent job of distilling 2500 years of the history of common sense down to a manageable form. He provides a unique take on this concept within the history of ideas. Scholars and educated laypersons alike will find his work compelling. The book is particularly fitting for this particular time in history as science and the broader culture attempt to find common ground.”—Robert M. McManus, McCoy Professor of Leadership and Communication, The McDonough Center for Leadership and Business at Marietta College, Ohio
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments; Introduction; 1. Common Sense and Scientific Thinking before Copernicus; 2. The Challenge of Modern Science and Philosophy; 3. Common Notions, Sens Commun: Herbert of Cherbury and Renè Descartes; 4. Hobbes, Locke, and Innatist Responses to Skepticism and Materialism; 5. Common Sense in Early Eighteenth-Century Thought; 6. Common Sense and Moral Sense: Buffier, Hutcheson, and Butler; 7. Common Sense and the Science of Man in Enlightenment; Scotland: Turnbull and Kames; 8. Common Sense, Science, and the Public Sphere: The Philosophy of Thomas Reid; Epilogue; Notes; Index.
