Description

Book Synopsis

James Beattie (1735-1803) was appointed professor of moral philosophy and logic at Marischal College, Aberdeen, Scotland at the age of twenty-five. Though more fond of poetry than philosophy, he became part of the Scottish ''Common Sense'' school of philosophy that included Thomas Reid and George Campbell. In 1770 Beattie published the work for which he is best known, An Essay on Truth, an abrasive attack on ''modern scepticism'' in general, and on David Hume in particular, subsequently and despite Beattie''s attack, Scotland''s most famous philosopher. The Essay was a great success, earning its author an honorary degree from Oxford and an audience with George III. Samuel Johnson declared in 1772 that ''We all love Beattie''. Hume, on the other hand, described the Essay as ''a horrible large lie in octavo'', and dismissed its author as a ''bigotted silly Fellow''. Although Beattie is no match for Hume as a philosopher, the success of the Essay suggests that, unlike Hume, Beattie voi

James Beattie Selected Philosophical Writings

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    A Paperback / softback by James Beattie, James Harris

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      View other formats and editions of James Beattie Selected Philosophical Writings by James Beattie

      Publisher: Imprint Academic
      Publication Date: Publication Date: 23/06/2004
      ISBN13: 9780907845713, 978-0907845713
      ISBN10: 907845711

      Description

      Book Synopsis

      James Beattie (1735-1803) was appointed professor of moral philosophy and logic at Marischal College, Aberdeen, Scotland at the age of twenty-five. Though more fond of poetry than philosophy, he became part of the Scottish ''Common Sense'' school of philosophy that included Thomas Reid and George Campbell. In 1770 Beattie published the work for which he is best known, An Essay on Truth, an abrasive attack on ''modern scepticism'' in general, and on David Hume in particular, subsequently and despite Beattie''s attack, Scotland''s most famous philosopher. The Essay was a great success, earning its author an honorary degree from Oxford and an audience with George III. Samuel Johnson declared in 1772 that ''We all love Beattie''. Hume, on the other hand, described the Essay as ''a horrible large lie in octavo'', and dismissed its author as a ''bigotted silly Fellow''. Although Beattie is no match for Hume as a philosopher, the success of the Essay suggests that, unlike Hume, Beattie voi

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