Overview

Although Thomas Reid (1710-96) is widely recognised as a leading figure of the Enlightenment, his life has not been analysed in depth since the Victorian era. The Life of Thomas Reid is the first major biography to appear in over a century. But more importantly, it is the first reconstruction of Reid's career to take into account recently discovered archival sources, and to benefit from the materials contained in The Edinburgh Edition of Thomas Reid. Unlike previous studies, The Life of Thomas Reid presents a systematic commentary on all aspects of his thought, ranging from his largely unpublished manuscripts on mathematics, the natural sciences and political economy, to his better known published works on epistemology and moral theory. Moreover, it situates Reid's life and writings firmly in the context of eighteenth-century Scotland, and shows how his research relates to the intellectual currents of the Enlightenment. The Life of Thomas Reid paints a vivid picture of Reid and his circle of friends and family, as well as his activities as a clergyman in the North-East of Scotland, a regent at King's College, Aberdeen, and as Adam Smith's successor as Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Glasgow. The Life of Thomas Reid thus evokes the cultures of Enlightenment across the Atlantic world which shaped Reid's thought and career.

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Paul Wood is Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Victoria, Canada. He has published widely on various aspects of the Scottish Enlightenment and has edited writings by George Turnbull, Dugald Stewart and especially Thomas Reid.

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