Abstract

The books here in review attest to the efflorescence of studies in the Scottish philosophy of common sense which has taken place in recent years. Although George Davie's "The Scotch Metaphysics" was written fifty years ago it represents, still today, an outstanding and useful study in order to understand some of the core theoretical problems (e.g., perception and the existence of the external world) which characterised the Scottish philosophy throughout its development, from Hume to Ferrier. Philip De Bary's "Thomas Reid and Scepticism. His Reliabilist Response" is an in-depth analysis which highlights many of Reid's claims against Cartesian foundationalism and sceptical arguments on the nature of knowledge. De Bary puts forward an original interpretation of Reid's common- sense philosophy which is largely influenced by the contemporary debate on the philosophy of mind.