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Name:
Thomas Reid
Dates:
Born: April 26, 1410
Died: 1796
Major Works:
Inquiry into the Human Mind on the Principles of Common Sense
Essays on the Intellectual Powers of Man
Essays on the Active Powers of Man
Biography:
Thomas Reid is known as a founder of the common-sense school of philosophy, perhaps better
known as the Scottish school or even the Scottish School of Common Sense, a perspective that
exercised considerable influence both in Great Britain and in America during the 19th century
According to Reid, common sense should be the foundation of all philosophical inquiry. Common sense should, in turn, be understood as self-evident knowledge we are able to acquire through the direct experience of objects in the physical world (real object, not copies or illusions). This was the epistemological idea of direct realism or common sense realism. Reid disagreed strongly with more idealistic epistemological theories advocated by philosophers like John Locke, Descartes, and other Early Modern philosophers.
Also Known As: none
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Common Misspellings: none
Related Resources:
Biographies of Philosophers
This index of biographical index of famous philosophers throughout history includes many others who have contributed to our understanding of human nature and life - including sociologists, psychologists, scientists, and more.What is the Philosophy of Science?
The Philosophy of Science is concerned with, obviously enough, science - specifically, how science operates, what the goals of science should be, what relationship science should have with the rest of society, the differences between science and other activities, etc. Everything that happens in science has some relationship with the Philosophy of Science and is predicated upon some philosophical position, even though that may be rarely evident.What is Philosophy?
What is philosophy? Is there any point in studying philosophy, or is it a useless subject? What are the different branches of philosophy - what's the difference between aestheitcs and ethics? What's the difference between metaphysics and epistemology?
