An Inquiry into the Human Mind: On the Principles of Common Sense

Though now little known outside specialist philosophical circles, the Scottish philosopher Thomas Reid (1710-1796) is remembered both for the founding of the Scottish School of Common Sense and his major work, An Inquiry into the Human Mind: on the Principles of Common Sense (1764).

With his feet firmly on the ground, he challenged the speculative ideas of David Hume and George Berkeley, who regarded ideas in the mind as a basis for the external world. Instead, the pugnacious but lively Rei...