Thomas Reid (1710-1796) is increasingly seen as
a philosopher of lasting importance and as a central figure in the
Scottish Enlightenment. Intellectual Powers is his greatest
work. It covers far more philosophical ground than the earlier,
more popular Inquiry. Intellectual Powers and its companion
volume, Essays on the Active Powers of Man, constitute the
fullest, most original presentation of the philosophy of Common
Sense.
In this work Reid provides acutely critical discussions
of an impressive array of thinkers but especially of David Hume.
In Reid's view, Hume had driven a deep tendency in modern philosophy
to its ultimate conclusion by creating a phantom-world of "ideas"
that spring from objects of observation. On this account, the self
is a conglomeration of perceived ideas; the will, as the source
of action, is nothing but the balance of passionate impulses.
Reid's Common Sense philosophy responds to these
problems by suggesting that skeptics such as Hume unavoidably affirm
what they purport to deny—namely, the existence of a stable
external world, of other minds, of the continuity of their own minds,
and of their own and other people's ability to ascribe and accept
responsibility for actions. We can understand all of these things
by proper empirical observation and philosophical analysis of the
activity of the mind. Reid's major positive contribution to philosophy
is a detailed account of the various innate powers of the mind.
This is the only properly established text. It is
accompanied by Reid's manuscript lectures on the nature and immortality
of the soul as well as helpful editorial annotations and an introduction,
making it useful to a wide variety of readers. |
