If you follow me on X (@thepalmerworm) you’ll know that I regularly post excerpts from texts by Enlightenment Scottish Common Sense Realism philosophers; Thomas Reid, James Beattie, James Oswald, James Wilson & Henry Home (Lord Kames).
Why?
Because their school of philosophy refutes the Theory Of Ideas set forth by Descartes, Kant, Hume, Hegel and the entrenched lineage of Idealism which went on to displace Direct & Qualified Realism from Academic discourse & enquiry from the 1800s through to the present day. This enabled the embedding throughout Education of philosophies which gave rise to the ideological possession which is currently consuming teachers & students across the West exemplified in the output of Joe Kincheloe’s ‘Critical Constructivism’, not merely social theory, but the grand design of a whole new Ontology of Man, in Kincheloe’s words; ‘what it means to be human’. Critical Constructivism (commonly called ‘Woke’) was preceded pedagogically by Social Reconstructivism under the Progressive Education Philosophy which established our modern State Education System & Teacher Training credentialing process throughout the West.
To be able to counter the current ideological possession spawned within our schools & workplaces it’s vital to recognize where ideas claiming that we ‘can not access reality’ & ‘we build the world in our heads’ come from. To understand what has been doing the load bearing, preventing any clarity of rational (rather than merely emotional) pushback against pathological ideas driving students to Social Justice Activism , self harm, self mutilation & existential despair. We have generations of students locked in solipsism unable to access the life affirming self evident principles of common sense realism congruent with our human nature.
This audio will be the first of a series enabling you to listen to the basic essentials of Enlightenment Common Sense Realism; the Philosophy which honoured both Scientific Method & Religion, sharing its metaphysical foundations with Christianity. The Enlightenment Philosophy which refuted Scientism, Superstition & the Pride of Reason. The philosophy which informed Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration Of Independence with its enunciation of Self Evident & the philosophy which underpins Classical Liberalism - as opposed to the Theory Of Ideas which latterly subverted & destroyed Modern Liberalism.
I hope this audio format enables a deeper appreciation of exactly what the Enlightenment Scottish Common Sense Realists were holding the line against & a sharp recognition of what the stakes are for us now, if we fail to trace our path back to Common Sense Realism.
Scottish Common Sense Realism