| Administrative History | Thomas Reid was born in Kincardineshire on 26 April 1710, a son of the manse and a descendant on his mother’s side of the famous scholarly Gregory family of Aberdeenshire. He graduated from Marischal College, Aberdeen, in 1726 without having shown much promise, but obtained his licence to preach in 1731, before being appointed librarian at his old college in 1733. He resigned in 1736 and the following year was presented to New Machar parish, Aberdeenshire, where he struggled successfully to win over the congregation. He had by that time an interest in philosophy, and in 1751 became professor of philosophy at King’s College, Aberdeen. He was a keen reformer of the system of studies, increasing the scope of the philosophy course and the length of the session. Student discipline was more strongly enforced. While he was there, he and his cousin John Gregory, professor of medicine, and others, founded the Aberdeen Philosophical Society. The Society’s debates and the papers read before it were of considerable merit: Reid, a ‘common sense’ philosopher, was recognised as a respected opponent of David Hume (1711-1776) and was awarded a DD by his old college in 1762. He was then appointed in 1764 to the chair of Moral Philosophy in Glasgow, where he taught such eminent pupils as Dugald Stewart (1753-1828). Despite being called upon as arbiter amidst his colleagues’ acrimonious disputes, he remained in post with a greatly increased number of students until 1780, when he retired. He remained extremely active in his scholarly pursuits until his death on 7 October 1796. |