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Reid's Method

Ryan Nichols

in Thomas Reid's Theory of Perception

This chapter identifies and explains several features of Reid's methodology. It begins by assessing just what it means to say that Reid adopts a Newtonian method. For Reid, this means that he adopts ... More

This chapter identifies and explains several features of Reid's methodology. It begins by assessing just what it means to say that Reid adopts a Newtonian method. For Reid, this means that he adopts a hands-on model of inquiry into the mind and the mind's relationship to the body. This commitment marks a vital difference between Reid and his so-called British ‘Empiricist’ predecessors. A brief look at the Inquiry's essay on vision reveals that he takes the role of observation more sincerely than most of his predecessors.Less

Intentional Awareness

Ryan Nichols

in Thomas Reid's Theory of Perception

This chapter focuses on the nature of conceptual awareness. Reid characterizes the type of conceptual awareness of interest to his theory of perception as a special subspecies of conception, what he ... More

This chapter focuses on the nature of conceptual awareness. Reid characterizes the type of conceptual awareness of interest to his theory of perception as a special subspecies of conception, what he calls apprehension. Apprehension is responsible for the presentation of mind-independent objects directly to the mind. Reid describes the conceptual state that apprehension produces as an ‘immanent act of the mind’. This is an intentional state because it necessarily takes objects. Apprehensions thus differ from other mental states, such as moods, which are not intentional.Less

Introduction

Ryan Nichols

in Thomas Reid's Theory of Perception

This chapter begins by outlining the main goal of this book, which is to determine the content of Reid's theory of perception. This theory includes his analyses of: the intentionality of cognition, ... More

This chapter begins by outlining the main goal of this book, which is to determine the content of Reid's theory of perception. This theory includes his analyses of: the intentionality of cognition, the senses themselves, sensory experience, the nature of secondary and primary qualities, and the formation of conceptual content in perceptual belief. Reed's philosophical development is then discussed. An overview of the subsequent chapters is presented.Less

The Concept of a Natural Sign

C. Stephen Evans

in Natural Signs and Knowledge of God: A New Look at Theistic Arguments

This chapter explicates the concept of a natural sign. The original Reidian concept of a natural sign is either a sensation or a perception that is causally linked “upstream” to what the sign ... More

This chapter explicates the concept of a natural sign. The original Reidian concept of a natural sign is either a sensation or a perception that is causally linked “upstream” to what the sign signifies and “downstream” to the generation of a characteristic judgment. The author extends Reid's work to consider the idea of a “theistic natural sign.” A theistic natural sign ought to be something that is connected both to God and to a human disposition to believe in God. He argues that both widespread belief in God and current cognitive science are consistent with the claim that theistic signs exist. Finally, he argues that theistic natural signs might be understood as either (a) non‐propositional grounds on which belief in God is warranted, or (b) non‐propositional (or, perhaps, even propositional) evidence for the fact of God's existence. He remains neutral between these competing views.Less

Common Sense

Anna Wierzbicka

in Experience, Evidence, and Sense: The Hidden Cultural Legacy of English

Common sense is one of the central values of Anglo culture reflected in the English language. This chapter begins by demonstrating the importance of this value for speakers of English by examining ... More

Common sense is one of the central values of Anglo culture reflected in the English language. This chapter begins by demonstrating the importance of this value for speakers of English by examining two areas of language use: book titles and the language of the law. It then discusses the meaning of common sense in contemporary English, Thomas Reid and the origin of English common sense, and common sense and the British Enlightenment.Less

The Scottish School of Common Sense Philosophy

Alexander Broadie

in A History of Scottish Philosophy

This chapter considers a few ingredients that are arguably central to the common sense philosophy, and indicates some consequent problems concerning the question of membership of the Scottish school, ... More

This chapter considers a few ingredients that are arguably central to the common sense philosophy, and indicates some consequent problems concerning the question of membership of the Scottish school, starting by addressing the work by Thomas Reid. Reid does not undertake a definition of ‘mind’, but he says enough to indicate what he is writing about: ‘By the mind of a man, we understand that in him which thinks, remembers, reasons, wills’. A brief consideration of the point that the theorists of ideas appropriated terms in common currency and put those terms to uncommon use is presented. The chapter then reviews Reid's theory of perception, dealing first with perception in general and then turning to visual perception in order to note a major achievement of his. It finally reports the contributions made by Henry Home, George Campbell, Dugald Stewart and Sir William Hamilton.Less

Reid on the Credit of Human Testimony

James Van Cleve

in The Epistemology of Testimony

This chapter explores the analogy proposed by Thomas Reid between testimony and sense perception. It begins by trying to arrive at a correct understanding of the two principles he identifies as ... More

This chapter explores the analogy proposed by Thomas Reid between testimony and sense perception. It begins by trying to arrive at a correct understanding of the two principles he identifies as fundamental to our acquiring information from others: the principles of veracity and credulity. Next, it investigates the similarities Reid finds between perception and testimony considered as mechanisms of belief formation. Finally, it investigates whether the analogy between perception and testimony can be extended from psychology into epistemology. In particular, it discusses whether beliefs based on testimony, like beliefs based on sense perception, may be regarded as epistemologically basic or foundational. It concludes that although Reid's answer is yes (testimonial fundamentalism), the correct answer is no (testimonial reductionism).Less

The early reception of Hume’s theory of justice

James A. Harris

in Philosophy and Religion in Enlightenment Britain: New Case Studies

This chapter describes the earliest responses to Hume’s account of justice, and gives particular attention to the responses of Henry Home (Lord Kames), Adam Smith, and Thomas Reid. Their obvious ... More

This chapter describes the earliest responses to Hume’s account of justice, and gives particular attention to the responses of Henry Home (Lord Kames), Adam Smith, and Thomas Reid. Their obvious differences notwithstanding, these three philosophers share the belief that something important is missing from Hume’s account: the fact that we ordinarily take the demands of justice to be strict and unconditional. The chapter describes the different ways in which Kames, Smith, and Reid seek to capture this aspect of the obligations of justice. While none of them makes appeal to principles of religion in the course of the argument against Hume, the influence of Joseph Butler can be discerned in each of their critiques. This gives reason to doubt that Francis Hutcheson is ‘the father of the Scottish Enlightenment’, or that at this time Scottish philosophy can be clearly differentiated and distinguished from English. It also calls into question whether Smith as a moral philosopher has more in common with Hume than with any other philosopher of the period.Less

Theistic Common Sense

Mark A. Noll

in America's God: From Jonathan Edwards to Abraham Lincoln

By 1790, American Christians also embraced the “new moral philosophy,” a way of understanding their faith through “commonsense moral reasoning.” Because they came to believe that God had created ... More

By 1790, American Christians also embraced the “new moral philosophy,” a way of understanding their faith through “commonsense moral reasoning.” Because they came to believe that God had created humans with a capacity for moral reasoning, American Christians largely gave up the traditional, hierarchical arbiters of truth found in the established churches of Europe and took into their own hands the determination of religious truth and control of the churches.Less

The Possibility of Scientific Knowledge

Gyula Klima

in John Buridan

This chapter provides a brief survey of Buridan’s reliabilist epistemology, contrasting it with skeptical challenges of his time, and comparing it with modern responses to similar skeptical ... More

This chapter provides a brief survey of Buridan’s reliabilist epistemology, contrasting it with skeptical challenges of his time, and comparing it with modern responses to similar skeptical challenges in modern philosophy, arguably stemming from the controversies of Buridan’s time. In particular, the chapter argues that the sort of “Demon-skepticism” modern readers are familiar with from Descartes was made conceptually possible precisely by the emergence of late-medieval nominalist semantics, and that the modern strategies responding to the skeptical challenge, exemplified by the works of Thomas Reid and most recently John Greco, originate in the epistemic principles of Buridan.Less

Common Sense and the Sense of Beauty

Peter Kivy

in The Seventh Sense: Francis Hutcheson and Eighteenth-Century British Aesthetics

Deals with the influence of Hutcheson's theory of the sense of beauty on the aesthetic theory of the Scottish commonsense philosopher, Thomas Reid.

Testimony, Credulity, and Veracity

Robert Audi

in The Epistemology of Testimony

This chapter concerns the nature of testimony, its relation to belief, justification, and knowledge, and its status as a source of all three. It argues that testimony-based beliefs are ... More

This chapter concerns the nature of testimony, its relation to belief, justification, and knowledge, and its status as a source of all three. It argues that testimony-based beliefs are non-inferential and, in that special sense, psychologically basic. Some of those non-inferential beliefs also constitute basic knowledge. Testimony is not, however, a basic source of knowledge. It has a kind of dependence on perception that precludes this. Testimony is also a source of justification, though it is non-basic for justification as well as for knowledge; but the chapter indicates some ways in which its role in giving us justification differs from its role in giving us knowledge. These and other ideas are then developed in comparison with Thomas Reid's theory of testimony. The chapter finally shows how testimony differs from such basic sources of knowledge and justification as perception and reason, but is nonetheless essential for human knowledge as we know it.Less

Natural jurisprudence and the identity of the Scottish Enlightenment

Knud Haakonssen

in Philosophy and Religion in Enlightenment Britain: New Case Studies

Enlightenment natural jurisprudence in Scotland is commonly seen as a subject that quickly became old-fashioned and was rejected by the high Enlightenment, except as an introduction to university ... More

Enlightenment natural jurisprudence in Scotland is commonly seen as a subject that quickly became old-fashioned and was rejected by the high Enlightenment, except as an introduction to university study. This perception derives in part from a teleological notion of Enlightenment as a tally of ‘contributions’ towards modernity. This chapter argues that, at the time, natural jurisprudence was a modern, practically relevant subject right through the Enlightenment, as shown in teaching practice, publications, and the demands of the legal profession. Through an overview of the publications of natural law, it is argued that, while certainly an academic discipline, it was also part of the wider civic culture. This was made possible by the character of natural jurisprudence as not itself a definite philosophy, but a genre, or practical language, that could be employed by a variety of very different religious and philosophical doctrines according to the shifting demands of successive generations.Less

Metamind: Belief, Consciousness, and Intentionality

Keith Lehrer

in Metamind

Thomas Reid articulated a theory of conception and belief which was a significant contribution in his day and which has contemporary relevance. Reid gives a central role to intentionality and ... More

Thomas Reid articulated a theory of conception and belief which was a significant contribution in his day and which has contemporary relevance. Reid gives a central role to intentionality and consciousness. He maintains that conception and belief presuppose an operation of the mind that is innate, part of our natural constitution, and interprets the original signs of sense. Reid's theory of belief is based on his theory of conception and meaning. This theory incorporates the division-of-labour theory of meaning. Reid anticipated modern theories of meaning, conception, and belief, especially causal theories, but his understanding of the role of consciousness in conception and belief renders his theory distinct from those of his modern rivals. He discovered that ordinary conception and belief presuppose consciousness of our mental activity and, therefore, that the human mind is essentially a metamind.Less

Thomas Reid and the Common Sense School

Paul Wood

in Scottish Philosophy in the Eighteenth Century, Volume I: Morals, Politics, Art, Religion

This chapter uses the career of Thomas Reid to challenge conceptions of the Scottish Enlightenment that take their lead from Hume’s version of the ‘science of man’. It illustrates the interplay of ... More

This chapter uses the career of Thomas Reid to challenge conceptions of the Scottish Enlightenment that take their lead from Hume’s version of the ‘science of man’. It illustrates the interplay of the human and the natural sciences in Reid’s work and, in so doing, suggests that we put the science back into the Scottish Enlightenment’s ‘science of man’. It traces the origins of what became known as ‘the common sense philosophy’ in Reid’s teaching at Aberdeen in the 1750s and in the discussions of the Aberdeen Philosophical Society from 1758 on. It shows that Euclid, Bacon, and Newton were just as important to the formulation of the common sense approach to the mind and its powers as Cicero and Shaftesbury.Less

The Logic of Taste: Reid and the Second Fifty Years

Peter Kivy

in The Seventh Sense: Francis Hutcheson and Eighteenth-Century British Aesthetics

Traces the changes in the logic of aesthetic perception in the second half of the eighteenth century, culminating in Thomas Reid's theory of taste and beauty.