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Contents

Thematic

Common Sense School

DOI
10.4324/9780415249126-DB017-1
Versions
DOI: 10.4324/9780415249126-DB017-1
Version: v1,  Published online: 1998
Retrieved June 04, 2026, from https://www.rep.routledge.com/articles/thematic/common-sense-school/v-1

List of works

  • Cousin, V. (1828) Cours de l’histoire de la philosophie moderne, Paris: Pichon & Didier, 3 vols; trans. O.W. Wight Course of the History of Modern Philosophy, New York: Appleton 1852.

    (Cousin’s use of the word ‘absolute’ has misled numerous commentators into characterizing him as an absolute idealist.)

  • Cousin, V. (1853) Du vrai, du beau, du bien, Paris: Didier; trans. O.W. Wight The True, the Beautiful and the Good, New York: Appleton, 1854.

    (Shortened version of Cousin’s lectures and a nineteenth-century translation of the 3rd edition.)

  • Jouffroy, T. (1838) Philosophical Miscellanies, Boston, MA: Hilliard, Gray.

    (Collection of philosophical and literary essays which, despite the title, is crucial for understanding Jouffroy’s thought.)

  • Jouffroy, T. (1840) Introduction to Ethics, Including a Critical Survey of Moral Systems, trans. W.H. Channing, Boston, MA: Hilliard, Gray.

    (This book was a standard text for ethics courses in American universities during the long dominance of Reid’s philosophy in America.)

  • Mahan, A. (1881) A Critical History of Philosophy, London: Elliot Stock.

    (Probably Mahan’s most important work. He developed his own version of Reid’s doctrine in volume 2; note particularly his discussion of Kant.)

  • McCosh, J. (1867) Intuitions of the Mind, revised edn, New York: Carter.

    (McCosh’s most important book, containing a more sophisticated analysis of the concept of cause than had heretofore appeared in the common sense tradition.)

  • Reid, T. (1785) Essays on the Intellectual Powers of Man, ed. B. Brody, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1969.

    (The best edition since it avoids all of Hamilton’s footnotes which are systematically misleading.)

  • Reid, T. (1788) Essays on the Active Powers of the Human Mind, ed. B. Brody, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1969.

    (The best edition since it avoids all of Hamilton’s footnotes which are systematically misleading.)

  • Reid, T. (1872) Collected Works, ed. W. Hamilton, Edinburgh: Maclachlan & Stewart, 7th edn.

    (Hamilton’s footnotes are systematically misleading.)

  • Stewart, D. (1826) Esquisses de philosophie morale (Outline of moral philosophy), trans. T. Jouffroy, Paris: Johanneau.

    (This book was influential in the formulation of Jouffroy’s own moral philosophy.)

  • Stewart, D. (1854–60) Collected Works, ed. W. Hamilton, Edinburgh: Constable.

    (Text is good, but the footnotes should be avoided. Strangely, Hamilton never had a clear understanding of the common sense tradition.)

  • Wayland, F. (1835) The Elements of Moral Science, ed. J.L. Blau, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1963.

    (Blau’s text is by far the best available; his Introduction throws much light on the Reidian tradition in America.)

References and further reading

  • Barker, S.F. and Beauchamp, T.C. (1976) Thomas Reid: Critical Interpretations, Philadelphia, PA: Monograph Series.

    (Analyses and clarifies numerous aspects of Reid’s philosophy.)

  • Grave, S.A. (1960) The Scottish Philosophy of Common Sense, Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    (Presents a flawed interpretation of Reid’s views on sensation and perception, but helpfully promoted the resurgence of the new interest in the Common Sense School.)

  • Lehrer, Keith (1989) Thomas Reid, London: Routledge.

    (Claims Reid’s major contribution is his combining nativism, psychology and epistemology.)

  • Madden, E.H. (1968) Civil Disobedience and Moral Law, Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press.

    (Deals with the deontological ethics and moral reforms of American common sense advocates.)

  • Madden, E.H. (1986) ‘Stewart’s Enrichment of the Common Sense Tradition’, History of Philosophy Quarterly 3 (1): 45–63.

    (Portrays Stewart as a significant philosopher, by no means a shadow of Reid.)

  • Manns, J.W. (1993) Reid and his French Disciples, Leyden: Brill.

    (Exhibits the best understanding of the common sense tradition yet written.)

  • Rowe, W.L. (1991) Thomas Reid on Freedom and Morality, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

    (Constitutes the most thorough examination of Reid’s agency theory.)

  • Stewart, D. (1803) Account of the Life and Writings of Thomas Reid, Edinburgh, William Creech.

    (Portrays Reid as a gentle, modest and amiable man and casts significant light on the nature and scope of Reid’s philosophy.)

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Citing this article:
Madden, Edward H.. Bibliography. Common Sense School, 1998, doi:10.4324/9780415249126-DB017-1. Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Taylor and Francis, https://www.rep.routledge.com/articles/thematic/common-sense-school/v-1/bibliography/common-sense-school-bib.
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