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Reid (THOMAS a Scotch philosopher)

THOMAS, a Scotch philosopher; born in Strachan, Scotland, April 26, 1710. He was educated at Marischal College, Aberdeen, and in 1737 was presented to the living of New Machar in Aberdeenshire. His first philosophical work was an "Essay on Quantity" (1748). In 1752 the professors of King's College, Aberdeen, elected Reid Professor of Moral Philosophy in that college; and in 1764 he published his well-known work, "An Inquiry Into the Human Mind on the Principles of Common Sense." The same year he succeeded Adam Smith as Professor of Moral Philosophy in Glasgow University, a position which he occupied till 1781. His other writings are "Essays on the Intellectual Powers of Man," and "Essays on the Active Powers of the Human Mind." His philosophy was directed against the principles and inferences of Berkeley and Hume, to which he opposed the doctrine of common sense.

He died Oct. 7, 1796.