Reid on Ethics

This is the first edited collection to bring together classic pieces and new work by leading scholars of Thomas Reid. The contributors explore key elements of Reid's ideas about moral epistemology, moral emotions, moral agency and practical ethics. Thomas Reid's moral philosophy is unduly neglected. Paradoxically, what makes his views provocative is that they are so close to common sense. Some philosophers think that such views can by definition not be philosophically satisfying. However, as the contributions to this volume show, Reid did not merely state his common sense intuitions, he also provided sophisticated arguments for them and based on them. This collection brings together some of the leading experts on Reid's work on moral philosophy, writing on the following aspects of Reid's work: his ideas about moral epistemology, moral emotions, moral agency and practical ethics. This volume wishes to show to a wider philosophical audience that Reid's moral philosophy is rich, unique and worth exploring in more detail. This book will provide for a unique overview of Reid's ideas about ethics which will be a valuable source of insights for experienced scholars as much as for beginning students Front Matter....Pages i-x Introduction: Thomas Reid’s Moral Philosophy....Pages 1-22 Front Matter....Pages 23-23 Reid, the Moral Faculty, and First Principles....Pages 25-45 Reid on Natural Signs, Taste and Moral Perception....Pages 46-66 Thomas Reid on Moral Disagreement....Pages 67-87 Front Matter....Pages 89-89 Reid Making Sense of Moral Sense....Pages 91-102 Reid and Modern Theories of Emotions....Pages 103-120 Front Matter....Pages 121-121 Thomas Reid on Determinism....Pages 123-142 A Second Look at Reid’s First Argument for Moral Liberty....Pages 143-163 Beyond the Brave Officer: Reid on the Unity of the Mind, the Moral Sense, and Locke’s Theory of Personal Identity....Pages 164-183 Front Matter....Pages 185-185 Reid on Justice....Pages 187-203 Reid on Hume on Justice....Pages 204-222 The Significance of Reid’s Practical Ethics....Pages 223-237 Duty, Goodness, and God in Thomas Reid’s Moral Philosophy....Pages 238-257 Back Matter....Pages 258-272