Thomas Reid's "Inquiry": The Geometry of Visibles and the Case for Realism by Norman Daniels

ISBN: 0804717125

Stanford University Press | 1989

Paperback | 192 pages

Norman Daniels’s Thomas Reid’s Inquiry: The Geometry of Visibles and the Case for Realism explores the Scottish philosopher Thomas Reid’s Inquiry into the Human Mind on the Principles of Common Sense by focusing on Reid’s theory of perception and his arguments for a realist account of how we perceive the world. Drawing on Reid’s work on the geometry of the visible and tangible, Daniels examines the philosophical foundations of perceptions, the relationships among sensory experience, spatial understanding, and belief, and how Reid’s insights challenge both sceptical and representational theories of mind that dominated early modern philosophy. The book situates Reid within broader debates about realism and empiricism, making it a significant contribution to scholarship on Reid and the history of philosophical realism.