Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>This volume ventures into the largely unexplored territory of Claude Buffier’s philosophical contributions to early modern thought, unlocking the complexity of his ideas while situating him within the broader context of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century philosophy. Instead of arguing that the foundation of all knowledge is grounded in either rational speculation or empirical observation, Buffier proposes a “third way”: his appeal to common sense seeks to show that, when we have exhausted all the justifications for our claims to knowledge, the bedrock where our spades are turned is the irreducible social and emotional dimension of our epistemic practices.</jats:p> <jats:p>The book focuses on three key aspects of Buffier’s writings. Part I explores central tenets of Buffier’s philosophy of common sense. Part II reflects on his metaphysics of the self, identity, and duration. Part III examines Buffier’s thought on social life, with chapters on his conceptions of freedom, social order, and the equality of the sexes. While focusing on arguments and claims central to Buffier’s thought, all chapters seek to place him in his intellectual context by tracing the positions which he responded to and those he built on.</jats:p>