The 2009 Saltire Society Scottish History Book of the Year
This is an important and impressive book...
Paul Henderson Scott, The Herald
A profound history by the recognised master in the field.
Professor Ted Cowan
This book provides the first-ever substantial account of the seven-centuries-old Scottish philosophical tradition. It focuses on a number of philosophers in the period from the later thirteenth century until the mid-twentieth and gives space to some brilliantly original texts.
Among the greatest philosophers that Scotland has produced are John Duns Scotus, Francis Hutcheson, David Hume, Adam Smith and Thomas Reid. But there were many other fine, even brilliant philosophers who have been largely overlooked, such as John Mair, George Lokert, Frederick Ferrier, Andrew Seth, Norman Kemp Smith and John Macmurray. All these thinkers and many others are discussed in these pages which accentuate the intimate connection between philosophy and other aspects of Scotland's culture.
This clearly written and approachable book gives us a strong sense of the Scottish philosophical tradition.
Alexander Broadie is Professor of Logic and Rhetoric at Glasgow University and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He is the author of fifteen books, most of them on the history of Scottish thought.

Alexander Broadie is an Honorary Professorial Research Fellow at the University of Glasgow. He is the author of numerous books and articles on the history of Scottish philosophy and culture.

Contents; Acknowledgements; 1. Introduction; 2. John Duns Scotus; 3. The fifteenth century; 4. The Circle of John Mair; 5. Humanism and after; 6. Scotland moves into the Age of Enlightenment; 7. David Hume; 8. Adam Smith; 9. The Scottish school of common sense philosophy; 10. The nineteenth century: Ferrier to Seth; 11. Realism and idealism: Some twentieth-century narratives; 12. Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.