Common Sense and Science from Aristotle to Reid

Benjamin W. Redekop is Professor of Leadership Studies at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia. He has published numerous books in the history of ideas, Anabaptist studies, and leadership studies.

• Acknowledgments; 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.

“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