
Mary Shepherd
A Guide
Deborah Boyle(Author)
Oxford University Press Inc
Published on 12. January 2023
Book
Hardback
342 pages
978-0-19-009032-6 (ISBN)
Description
Scottish philosopher Lady Mary Shepherd (1777-1847) wrote two books that she conceived as one unified project: Essay Upon the Relation of Cause and Effect (1824) and Essays on the Perception of an External Universe (1827). While they were well received in her day, Shepherd's insightful philosophical writings have been neglected for some 150 years and are only now receiving the scholarly attention they deserve. Mary Shepherd: A Guide by Deborah Boyle, part of the Oxford Guides to Philosophy series, navigates students of philosophy or general readers through Shepherd's two significant works.
The first four chapters address topics raised in the 1824 Essay: Shepherd's arguments for two key causal principles, her objections to Hume and her alternative accounts of causation and causal inference; her theory of objects as bundles of qualities; her critique of Thomas Brown's defence of Humean causation; and her discussion of London surgeon William Lawrence's accounts of sentience and life, which Shepherd treats as a case study of how Humean theory can lead to errors in scientific reasoning. Chapter 5 covers topics central to both of Shepherd's books: what she means by "sensation," "idea," "will," "imagination," "understanding," "reasoning," and "latent reasoning." The remaining five chapters proceed systematically through Shepherd's 1827 book, where she seeks to prove, against Berkeleian idealism, that we can know that an external world of mind-independent matter exists. Boyle discusses Shepherd's proofs for such an external world, her responses to various sceptical challenges, and her specific objections to Berkeley. Each chapter ends with a list of works for further reading and a glossary of terms that explain Shepherd's sometimes idiosyncratic philosophical vocabulary, resulting in an essential guide to a philosopher who exerted considerable influence during her time.
The first four chapters address topics raised in the 1824 Essay: Shepherd's arguments for two key causal principles, her objections to Hume and her alternative accounts of causation and causal inference; her theory of objects as bundles of qualities; her critique of Thomas Brown's defence of Humean causation; and her discussion of London surgeon William Lawrence's accounts of sentience and life, which Shepherd treats as a case study of how Humean theory can lead to errors in scientific reasoning. Chapter 5 covers topics central to both of Shepherd's books: what she means by "sensation," "idea," "will," "imagination," "understanding," "reasoning," and "latent reasoning." The remaining five chapters proceed systematically through Shepherd's 1827 book, where she seeks to prove, against Berkeleian idealism, that we can know that an external world of mind-independent matter exists. Boyle discusses Shepherd's proofs for such an external world, her responses to various sceptical challenges, and her specific objections to Berkeley. Each chapter ends with a list of works for further reading and a glossary of terms that explain Shepherd's sometimes idiosyncratic philosophical vocabulary, resulting in an essential guide to a philosopher who exerted considerable influence during her time.
Reviews / Votes
For those interested in learning more about Shepherd, Boyle's Guide is and will remain for years to come essential reading-perhaps the essential secondary reading in Shepherd studies. * Louise Daost, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 210 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
490 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-009032-6 (9780190090326)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Book
02/2023
Oxford University Press Inc
€37.50
Shipment within 15-20 days


Person
Deborah Boyle is Professor of Philosophy at the College of Charleston in South Carolina. She is the author of The Well-Ordered Universe: The Philosophy of Margaret Cavendish (Oxford University Press, 2018), among other titles. She has published articles and book chapters on Cavendish, Shepherd, Elizabeth Hamilton, Anne Conway, Mary Astell, Descartes, and Hume. She is also the editor of the Journal of the History of Philosophy.
Author
Professor of PhilosophyProfessor of Philosophy, College of Charleston in South Carolina
Content
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1 Shepherd's Life and Context
Chapter 2 Causation
Chapter 3 Induction, Objects, and the Uniformity of Nature
Chapter 4 Causation, Sentience, and Life
Chapter 5 Sensing and Reasoning
Chapter 6 The External World
Chapter 7 Skepticism and Idealism
Chapter 8 Mind and Body
Chapter 9 Religion
Chapter 10 Vision
Glossary of Terms
Bibliography
Chapter 1 Shepherd's Life and Context
Chapter 2 Causation
Chapter 3 Induction, Objects, and the Uniformity of Nature
Chapter 4 Causation, Sentience, and Life
Chapter 5 Sensing and Reasoning
Chapter 6 The External World
Chapter 7 Skepticism and Idealism
Chapter 8 Mind and Body
Chapter 9 Religion
Chapter 10 Vision
Glossary of Terms
Bibliography