All too often it is said that common-sense philosophers fail to justify their appeal to common sense as a philosophical standard, and that they merely repeat one another in the glorification of philosophical trivialities. This book challenges these and other widespread assumptions about common-sense philosophers and provides a major reassessment of an influential segment of the history of ideas.

Claude Buffier (1661-1737) was a French Jesuit whose philosophy earned Voltaire's praise. Thomas Reid (1710-96) was the one Scottish philosopher whose response to David Hume is still taken seriously. In this comparative study Professor Marcil-Lacoste not only refutes common assumptions, but also shows that, despite their similar concerns and the unfounded charge that Reid plagiarized from Buffier, a comparison of Reid and Buffier illuminates a range of significant epistemological issues. Further, she demonstrates that common-sense philosophies can be varied, subtle, and original.

This book also includes an edited and annotated version of Reid's hitherto unpublished curâ primâ on common sense prepared by David Fate Norton.