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Cover; Contents; Front matter; Title page; Copyright page; Series Editor's Note; James J.S. Foster: Introduction; Body matter; One: William Smith (1727-1803); Two: Benjamin Rush (1746-1813); Three: John Witherspoon (1723-1794); Four: James Wilson (1742-1798); Five: Samuel Stanhope Smith (1751-1819); Six: Archibald Alexander (1772-1851); Seven: William Ellery Channing (1780-1842); Eight: Alexander Campbell (1788-1866); Nine: James McCosh (1811-1894); Ten: Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914); Back matter; Other titles available from Imprint Academic and Andrews UK.

Brings Thomas Reid into conversation with contemporary moral philosophyAppeals to readers interested in Reid and Scottish Philosophy; and to those broadly interested in moral philosophyDraws from Reid's entire corpus, not just his major published works, including his 'Some Thoughts on the Utopian System', correspondence, and 'Lectures on Practical Ethics'Applies Reid's arguments to contemporary discussions of moral subjectivism and moral pessimismDiscusses the implications of Reid's understanding of practical ethics and the limitations of speculative philosophy for moral educationIs morality a subjective matter, dependent on our desires and interests, or are there objective moral truths? And if the latter, can we explain the objectivity of morality without appeal to metaphysics, a robust teleology, or divine command? This book argues that we find just such an account of moral objectivity in Thomas Reid's defence of duty. To make this case, this book provides an explanation of Reid's way of philosophy and his reasons for rejecting moral subjectivism; presents Reid's account of the concept, perception, and motivational force of duty; and responds to contemporary challenges of moral subjectivism and moral pessimism from the perspective of his moral philosophy. Further, this book argues that if Reid is correct, then there is an urgent need to reform current pedagogical practice and return to the teaching of practical ethics