Scottish Common Sense in Germany, 1768

Kuehn suggests that the most important aspect of their reading was the perception of Scottish common-sense philosophers as opposing Hume's scepticism while complementing his positive teaching. Their views gave considerable impetus to those developments in German thought that ultimately led to Kant's critical philosophy. In fact Kant, whose devastating criticism of the Scottish common-sense philosophers is often cited, learned much from the Scots, as his Critique of Pure Reason reveals. Kuehn's analysis of the Scottish influence provides a new perspective on the German enlightenment and Kant's role within it, revealing the importance of problems of idealism versus realism and of philosophical justification versus mere descriptive metaphysics.