James Beattie's Books

James Beattie

Selected Philosophical Writings

By: James Harris

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James Beattie

Selected Philosophical Writings

By: James Harris

James Beattie (1735-1803) was appointed professor of moral philosophy and logic at Marischal College, Aberdeen, Scotland at the age of twenty-five. Though more fond of poetry than philosophy, he became part of the Scottish 'Common Sense' school of philosophy that included Thomas Reid and George Campbell. In 1770 Beattie published the work for which he is best known, An Essay on Truth, an abrasive attack on 'modern scepticism' in general, and on David Hume in particular, subsequently and despite Beattie's attack, Scotland's most famous philosopher. The Essay was a great success, earning its author an honorary degree from Oxford and an audience with George III. Samuel Johnson declared in 1772 that 'We all love Beattie'. Hume, on the other hand, described the Essay as 'a horrible large lie in octavo', and dismissed its author as a 'bigotted silly Fellow'. Although Beattie is no match for Hume as a philosopher, the success of the Essay suggests that, unlike Hume, Beattie voices the characteristic assumptions, and anxieties, of his age. The first part of this selection—the first ever made from Beattie's prose writings—includes several key chapters from the Essay on Truth, along with extracts from all of Beattie's other works on moral philosophy. The topics treated include memory, the existence of God, the nature of virtue, and slavery. The second part of the selection is devoted to Beattie's contributions to literary criticism and aesthetics. Beattie's studies of poetry, music, taste, and the sublime are vital to the understanding of the literary culture out of which developed the early Romanticism of Wordsworth and Coleridge.

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Page Count

232

Publisher

Andrews UK Limited

Published Date

ISBN 10

1845404467

ISBN 13

9781845404468

Hume

By: James A. Harris

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Hume

By: James A. Harris

This is the first intellectual biography of the British philosopher and historian David Hume.

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Page Count

637

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0521837251

ISBN 13

9780521837255

Of Liberty and Necessity

The Free Will Debate in Eighteenth-Century British Philosophy

By: James A. Harris

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Of Liberty and Necessity

The Free Will Debate in Eighteenth-Century British Philosophy

By: James A. Harris

In Of Liberty and Necessity James A. Harris presents the first comprehensive account of the free will problem in eighteenth-century British philosophy. Harris proposes new interpretations of the positions of familiar figures such as Locke, Hume, Edwards, and Reid. He also gives careful attention to writers such as William King, Samuel Clarke, Anthony Collins, Lord Kames, James Beattie, David Hartley, Joseph Priestley, and Dugald Stewart, who, while well-known in the eighteenth century, have since been largely ignored by historians of philosophy. Through detailed textual analysis, and by making precise use of a variety of different contexts, Harris elucidates the contribution that each of these writers makes to the eighteenth-century discussion of the will and its freedom. In this period, the question of the nature of human freedom is posed principally in terms of the influence of motives upon the will. On one side of the debate are those who believe that we are free in our choices. A motive, these philosophers believe, constitutes a reason to act in a particular way, but it is up to us which motive we act upon. On the other side of the debate are those who believe that, on the contrary, there is no such thing as freedom of choice. According to these philosophers, one motive is always intrinsically stronger than the rest and so is the one that must determine choice. Several important issues are raised as this disagreement is explored and developed, including the nature of motives, the value of 'indifference' to the will's freedom, the distinction between 'moral' and 'physical' necessity, the relation between the will and the understanding, and the internal coherence of the concept of freedom of will. One of Harris's primary objectives is to place this debate in the context of the eighteenth-century concern with replicating in the mental sphere what Newton had achieved in the philosophy of nature. All of the philosophers discussed in Of Liberty and Necessity conceive of themselves as 'experimental' reasoners, and, when examining the will, focus primarily upon what experience reveals about the influence of motives upon choice. The nature and significance of introspection is therefore at the very centre of the free will problem in this period, as is the question of what can legitimately be inferred from observable regularities in human behaviour.

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Page Count

280

Publisher

OUP Oxford

Published Date

ISBN 10

0191533327

ISBN 13

9780191533327

A New General Biographical Dictionary

Vol. III

By: Hugh James Rose

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A New General Biographical Dictionary

Vol. III

By: Hugh James Rose

Reprint of the original, first published in 1857.

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Page Count

522

Publisher

BoD – Books on Demand

Published Date

ISBN 10

3375160593

ISBN 13

9783375160593

The British Critic

Vol. XXVIII

By: James Shergold Boone,John Henry Newman

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The British Critic

Vol. XXVIII

By: James Shergold Boone,John Henry Newman

Reprint of the original, first published in 1807.

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Page Count

738

Publisher

BoD – Books on Demand

Published Date

ISBN 10

3368511548

ISBN 13

9783368511548

Deadly Healthcare

By: James Dunbar,Prasuna Reddy,Stephen May

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Deadly Healthcare

By: James Dunbar,Prasuna Reddy,Stephen May

The story of Australia's own 'Dr Death', Jayant Patel, is symptomatic of a tidal wave heading towards all modern healthcare systems. In this absorbing book, the authors have ploughed through the mass of public inquiry data, interviewing key figures to reveal in gripping detail how it happened, who was to blame, and how it can be avoided.

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Page Count

205

Publisher

Australian Academic Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1921513756

ISBN 13

9781921513756

Defend Us in Battle

Catholic Chaplains in the British Military

By: James Hagerty,Barry Hudd

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Defend Us in Battle

Catholic Chaplains in the British Military

By: James Hagerty,Barry Hudd

An insight into the ministry of priests who over the centuries and across the world have voluntarily provided Catholic service personnel with the solace of religion far away from home and frequently in danger.

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Page Count

411

Publisher

Sacristy Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1789593581

ISBN 13

9781789593587

British Orientalisms, 1759–1835

By: James Watt

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British Orientalisms, 1759–1835

By: James Watt

Illuminates Britons' changing sense of themselves in relation to their Eastern others during an age of empire and revolution.

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Page Count

301

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1108472664

ISBN 13

9781108472661

Book's by James Beattie

James Beattie

James Beattie

Hume

Hume

Of Liberty and Necessity

Of Liberty and Necessity

A New General Biographical Dictionary

A New General Biographical Dictionary

The British Critic

The British Critic

Deadly Healthcare

Deadly Healthcare

Defend Us in Battle

Defend Us in Battle

British Orientalisms, 1759–1835

British Orientalisms, 1759–1835

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