Seminar on Mary Shepherd

This course offers an intensive study of the philosophy of Mary Shepherd, situating her work within an historical and critical framework provided by central issues in the works of Locke, Berkeley, and Hume. We will closely read Shepherd's two major publications, An Essay upon the Relation of Cause and Effect (1824) and Essays on the Perception of an External Universe (1827), alongside works by the aforementioned authors with which Shepherd is deeply engaged. Topics include a selection from: innate ideas; substance; personal identity; abstract ideas; theory of language; perception, materialism, and idealism; induction, causation, and natural kinds; and skepticism.