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Thomas Reid

Life

Thomas Reid, son of Rev. Lewis Reid and Margaret Gregory, was born on 26 April 1710 at Strachan, Kincardineshire in Scotland. With the exception of a single expedition to England in 1736, Reid spent the entirety of his life in Scotland.vii In 1740 Reid was married to Elizabeth Gregory, a cousin of his. When she passed away in 1792 he was looked after for the remainder of his life by their one daughter.ix Reid died on 7 October 1796 at the age of 86.

Education

At the age of twelve Reid began his studies at Marischal College, Aberdeen, where he spent three years under the tutelage of George Turnbull.vii When his studies were completed Reid remained at Marischal in order to study theology. His studies in theology led to him being licensed as a probationer for the ministry in 1731.viii Reid then spent the years 1733-1736 as Librarian of the college.viii

Career

In the year 1736 Reid made his first and only trip outside of Scotland. He traveled with his friend John Stewart to England, where they spent time in London, Oxford, and Cambridge.viii During this trip he was able to spend time discussing various topics with both Richard Bentley and Nicholas Saunderson.viii Upon his return to Scotland Reid spent the next fourteen years filling the post of minister of New Machar.viii It was during this time that Reid was able to work through David Hume’s Treatise of Human Nature.viii

From 1751 through 1764 Reid took up the post of Professor of Philosophy at King’s College, Aberdeen. While he had been working on and presenting papers to the Aberdeen Philosophical Society, by 1764 he had only had one essay published (Essays on Quantity)ix In 1764 he succeeded Adam Smith as the chair of Moral Philosophy at Glasgow.ix In the same year he had published An Inquiry into the Human Mind on the Principles of Common Sense. This work was largely motivated by a desire to refute the skeptical system that Hume developed in his Treatise. In fact, in 1762, four year prior to the publication of the Inquiry, Reid sent Hume a substantial portion of the Inquiry for Hume's comment (Sent through their mutual friend Hugh Blair). P.B. Wood

In 1780 Reid stepped down from his position at Glasgow in order to work on his yet to be published essays.ix Reid followed up on the Inquiry by publishing Essays on the Intellectual Powers of Man in 1785 and Essays on the Active Powers of Man in 1788. Despite having stepped down in 1780 to work on his Essays, Reid continued to live at Glasgow University until 1790.ix

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List of Publications

• Essay on Quantity (1748)
• An Inquiry into the Human Mind on the Principles of Common Sense (1764)
• Brief Account of Aristotle’s Logic (1774)
• Essays on the Intellectual Powers of Man (1785)
• Essays on the Active Powers of Man (1788)
• Statistical Account of the University of Glasgow (1799)