Thomas Reid
Scottish philosopher (1710-1796) · United Kingdom · Academics · Died at 86
Thomas Reid is read about 120 times a day, in 36 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 17 September 2026
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Something wrong?The Scottish philosopher who built an entire school of thought on the idea that some things are just obvious - and spent decades arguing that David Hume, his contemporary and target, had philosophized himself into absurdity by doubting them.
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About this person
Born in 1710, Reid trained in religion but turned to philosophy, where he became Hume's earliest and fiercest critic. He founded the Scottish School of Common Sense, arguing that perception and basic truths don't need elaborate proof - they're self-evident starting points, not puzzles to dissolve. His work spread across epistemology, free will (he championed agent causation), ethics, language, and philosophy of mind. In 1783 he co-founded the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His Essays on the Active Powers of the Human Mind arrived in 1788, laying out how the mind acts - through will, moral principles, and choice. He died in 1796, having anchored one end of the Scottish Enlightenment while Hume held the other.
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