The Oxford Handbook of British Philosophy in the Eighteenth Century

Philosophy in eighteenth-century Britain was diverse, vibrant, and sophisticated. This was the age of Hume and Berkeley and Reid, of Hutcheson and Kames and Smith, of Ferguson and Burke and Wollstonecraft. Important and influential works were published in every area of philosophy, from the theory of vision to theories of political resistance, from the philosophy of language to accounts of ways of governing the passions. The philosophers of eighteenth-century Britain were enormously influential, in France, Italy, Germany, and America. Their ideas and arguments remain a powerful presence in philosophy three centuries later. This book provides accounts of the writings of all the major figures, but also puts those figures in the context provided by a host of writers less well known today.