Thomas Reid was a philosopher (1710-1796) who moved
from being a pastor to professorship at King’s College in Aberdeen in
1752. After completing his dissertation
he founded the Scottish School of Common Sense with his 1764 book entitled An
Inquiry into the Human Mind on the Principles of Common Sense. He eventually replaced Adam Smith at the
University of Glasgow.
His philosophies didn’t
die in the university but continued to spread around the world causing new
structures to develop. Modern day America owes as much to Thomas Reid as it
does to Thomas Pain. One European concept of Common Sense led to the American Revolution
and the shot heard around the world.
The School of Common Sense was particularly
important in Scotland as an almost national philosophy. It is a philosophy
which believes that most understanding is within the grasp of the common human
mind. The average human being, with some
capacity to make judgments, can determine the general truths and falsehoods of
arguments. Only when the information is complex and difficult to grasp does
common sense fail.
The philosophy basically states that most people
have daily experiences to provide them information for survival. They have
little need to dig into the finite details of arguments. These arguments are
the existence of the self, the existence of real objects, and general basic
religious/moral principles. We know them to be true because we experience them
on a common level.
The details of how we know we exist, why basic
values work, and the nature of world objects don’t really enter the conscious
nature of the average man. They take such assumptions on a basic level and
rarely question the nature of existence. Spending energy on such concepts is
counterproductive for those trying to eat and squeak out an existence.
Each person exists within a societal order based
within their cultural perspective. They have a difficult time questioning their
personal position within that social order or the social order itself. Yet
without questioning the perceived right of Kings to rule men Thomas Reid’s
common sense philosophy would not have made it into Thomas Pain’s Common Sense
pamphlet designed to change that social structure (1776).
"We have
it in our power to begin the world over again." -- Thomas Paine, Common Sense
