Thomas Reed is a writer, a Scottish philosopher, best known for his philosophical method, the theory of perception, and its widespread influence on epistemology. Also a developer and supporter of a causal theory of free will. In these and other fields, he offers insightful and important criticism of the philosophy of Locke, Berkeley, and especially Hume. Reed made a significant contribution to philosophical topics, including ethics, aesthetics, and the philosophy of the mind. The legacy of Thomas Reed's philosophical work can be found in modern theories of perception, free will, philosophy of religion, and epistemology.
short biography
Thomas Reed was born on the estate in Strehan (Aberdeenshire) on April 26, 1710 (old style). Parents: Lewis Reid (1676–1762) and Margaret Gregory, cousin James Gregor. He was educated at Kinkardin Parish School, and then at O'Neill Grammar School.
He entered the University of Aberdeen in 1723 and graduated from the magistracy in 1726. In 1731, when he came of age, he received a license to preach. He began his career as a priest in the Church of Scotland. However, in 1752, he was given the position of professor at King's College (Aberdeen), which he accepted while preserving the priesthood. He received his doctorate and wrote “The Study of the Human Mind in accordance with the Principles of Common Sense” (published in 1764). He and his colleagues founded the Aberdeen Philosophical Community, commonly known as the Wise Club.
Soon after the publication of the first book, he was awarded the prestigious title of Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Glasgow, urging him to replace Adam Smith. The philosopher resigned from this post in 1781, after which he prepared his university lectures for publication in two books: Essays on the Intellectual Abilities of Man (1785) and Essays on the Active Abilities of the Human Mind (1788). He died in 1796. Thomas Reed is buried at Blackfriars Church in Glasgow College. When the university moved to Gilmorehill, west of Glasgow, its tombstone was installed in the main building.
Common sense philosophy
The concept of common sense has been widely used in everyday speech and numerous philosophical doctrines in the past. One of the most comprehensive analyzes of common sense was made by Thomas Reed. The purpose of the philosopher’s teaching is to be an argument against the skepticism of David Hume. Reed’s answer to Hume’s skeptical and naturalistic arguments was to list the set of common sense principles (sensus communis) that form the basis of rational thinking. For example, anyone who makes a philosophical argument must indirectly assume certain beliefs such as “I speak with a real person” and “There is an outside world whose laws do not change.”
His theory of knowledge had a strong influence on the theory of morality. He believed that epistemology is an introductory part of practical ethics: when philosophy confirms us in our common beliefs, all we need to do is act in accordance with them, because we know what is right. His moral philosophy resembles Roman stoicism with an emphasis on subject freedom and self-control. He often quoted Cicero, from which he adopted the term "sensus communis".
Memory and Personality Identification
Thomas Reid's memory research is based on the theory of personality identification. One of the results was three criticisms of Locke's theory. Reed argued that Locke was misleading because of the confusion between the concepts of consciousness, memory, and personal identity. The philosopher believed that the use of “consciousness” to describe awareness of past events is incorrect, because in such cases we are only aware of our memory of these events.
Perception and consciousness give direct knowledge about the things that currently exist: about what the external world is and how mental actions replace each other. On the other hand, memory provides direct knowledge of the past; and these things can, in turn, be external or internal. Someone may recall, for example, a sickening sensation when meeting rotten food. This person will remember not only the state of food, in this case, but also that he experiences certain unpleasant sensations.
Philosophy of religion
Thomas Reid formed this philosophy under the influence of his dignity. Reed's main contribution to the history of the philosophy of religion concerns the way in which he, as an apologist, shifts the emphasis from proving the existence of God to the task of showing that it is reasonable to believe in His existence. In this, Reed is an innovator and has many modern followers. As evidence of this, the leading defenders of the Christian faith in the Anglo-American philosophical tradition do not just pay tribute to Reed's efforts to formulate the conditions under which religious faith becomes rational. They also widely use and develop a series of his arguments and maneuvers in the epistemology of religious beliefs.
As a person with great theological training, as well as a father with one out of six children, Thomas Reed writes a lot about pain and suffering, as well as their relationship to God. However, very little has been written about the problem of evil. In his notes to the lectures, three types of evil are distinguished:
- The evil of imperfection.
- Evil called natural.
- Moral evil.
The first relates to the fact that beings could be given a greater degree of perfection. The second form is the suffering and pain that beings endure in the universe. The third relates to the violation of the laws of virtue and morality.
Perception and knowledge of the world
In addition to being a Newtonian empiricist, Reed is considered an expert phenomenologist who is well aware of the specifics of our experience, especially sensory. When we touch, for example, a table, we think about it, form ideas about an object, and also feel it. The immediate effect that objects have on us is to evoke sensations. The process is always distinctly associated with a particular sensory organ: touch or sight. We are aware of the quality of objects, following the sensations that cause these objects.