The Nineteenth Century: Ferrier to Seth
Alexander Broadie
Edinburgh University Press eBooks December 15, 2008 DOI: 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748616275.003.0010 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
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| Key points | The text presents George Davie's argument that James Frederick Ferrier was in substantial measure responsible for the blackout of the Scottish Enlightenment in the 1850s. It describes Ferrier's view that consciousness implies an act of negation, in which the self distinguishes itself from nature as a self in relation to not-self, and notes that many Scottish idealists wrote extensively on the social and political implications of their philosophy. |
Abstract
The Scottish Enlightenment was a stunning intellectual performance that set the intellectual agenda for many people inside and outside Scotland for many decades thereafter. George Davie argues that Sir William Hamilton's pupil and friend James Frederick Ferrier was in substantial measure responsible for the blackout of the Scottish Enlightenment in the 1850s. Ferrier's greatest work is perhaps An Introduction to the Philosophy of Consciousness, which originally appeared as a series of seven papers in Blackwood's Magazine. Consciousness implies an act of negation, for the self must distinguish itself from nature as a self in relation to not-self. The contributions of Alexander Bain and Andrew Seth Pringle-Pattison are elaborated. Many of Scottish idealists wrote extensively on the practical implications, whether social or political, of their philosophy.