Famous Scottish Philosophers

Widely considered The Father of Economics, Adam Smith was a Scottish philosopher and economist. A pioneer of political economy, Adam Smith played a major role during the Scottish Enlightenment. His book The Wealth of Nations is regarded as the first modern work of economics and a forerunner of today's academic discipline of economics.

Scottish Enlightenment philosopher, historian, and economist, David Hume, is considered one of the most important philosophers to write in English. His book, A Treatise of Human Nature, is counted among the most influential works in the history of philosophy. His works have influenced numerous thinkers, including German philosopher Immanuel Kant and Christian philosopher Joseph Butler.

Duns Scotus was a Scottish Franciscan friar, philosopher, theologian, and university professor. Widely regarded as one of the most prominent philosopher-theologians of the High Middle Ages, Scotus had a major influence on both secular and Catholic thought. In 1993, Duns Scotus was beatified by the Catholic Church. His life and work inspired a 2012 Italian film titled Blessed Duns Scotus.

James Mill was a Scottish economist, historian, philosopher, and political theorist. Mill is credited with co-founding the Ricardian school of economics. He is also credited with writing The History of British India, which classifies Indian history into three parts: British, Muslim, and Hindu. The classification has played an influential role in the field of Indian historical studies.

Thomas Reid was a Scottish philosopher best remembered for founding the Scottish School of Common Sense. Reid, who played an important part in the Scottish Enlightenment, advocated common sense realism as opposed to his contemporary David Hume who advocated metaphysical naturalism. Thomas Reid is also credited with co-founding the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1783.

Scotch-Irish philosopher Francis Hutcheson is remembered as a pioneering figure of the Scottish Enlightenment. An Irish Presbyterian preacher, he also taught moral philosophy at Glasgow University. He believed in internal senses, apart from the 5 external senses. His 2-volume System of Moral Philosophy, one of his best-known works, was released posthumously.

W. D. Ross was a Scottish philosopher best remembered for his work in ethics. He is credited with developing a deontological form of intuitionism in response to his contemporary George Edward Moore's consequentialist form of intuitionist ethics. Ross is also credited with editing and translating several works of the popular Greek philosopher and polymath Aristotle.

Michael Scot was a Scottish scholar and mathematician. Widely regarded as the greatest intellectual of the Middle Ages, Scot served as a court astrologer and science adviser to Emperor Frederick II. Michael Scot's life and work have inspired several literary works, including the 2019 novel A Matter of Interpretation by Elizabeth Mac Donald.

Richard Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane was a British philosopher, lawyer, and politician. Between 1905 and 1912, he served as the Secretary of State for War and was instrumental in implementing a series of reforms of the British Army called The Haldane Reforms. He also served as the Lord Chancellor twice during his illustrious career. Richard was also an influential writer.

Sir William Hamilton, 9th Baronet, was a Scottish metaphysician and educator best remembered for his work in the field of logic. Hamilton, who made attempts to combine the views held by German philosopher Immanuel Kant with the Scottish philosophy of common sense, is credited with popularizing the works of Kant in the United Kingdom.

John Henry Mackay was a writer, thinker, and egoist anarchist. Mackay, who spent most of his life in Germany, is best remembered for his work Die Anarchisten which was published in 1891. He is also remembered for his friendship with American anarchist Benjamin Tucker, who published his works in Liberty magazine in the United States of America.

Alexander Bain was a Scottish philosopher. He was a prominent educationalist in the British school of empiricism. A respected figure in the fields of psychology, logic, linguistics, moral philosophy, and education reform, he founded Mind, the first-ever journal of psychology and analytical philosophy. He had an illustrious academic career at the University of Aberdeen. 

Dugald Stewart was a Scottish mathematician and philosopher best remembered for his efforts to popularize the works of Adam Smith and Francis Hutcheson. Considered one of the most prominent personalities of the Scottish Enlightenment, Stewart played a major role in explaining the Scottish Common Sense Realism. Among his students were Sir Walter Scott, Sir Archibald Alison, and Sir James Mackintosh. 

James Burnett, Lord Monboddo was a Scottish philosopher, judge, deist, and scholar of linguistic evolution. Best remembered for contributing to the development of the concepts of biological evolution, James Burnett is often credited with theorizing the idea of natural selection. His theories were read and acknowledged by Erasmus Darwin, whose works were in turn read by his grandson Charles Darwin.

James Frederick Ferrier was a Scottish metaphysical philosopher, writer, and professor. He is best remembered for authoring a series of articles titled An Introduction to the Philosophy of Consciousness, which were published in Blackwood's Magazine. As an educator, James Frederick Ferrier taught at several prestigious institutions like Edinburgh University and the University of St Andrews.

Richard of Saint-Victor was a Medieval Scottish theologian and philosopher. One of the most influential and prominent religious thinkers of his generation, Richard served as a prior of the Augustinian Abbey of Saint-Victor from 1162 to 1173. A prolific writer, Richard of Saint-Victor published several important books, including The Book of the Twelve Patriarchs.

Henry Home, Lord Kames was a Scottish philosopher, writer, agricultural improver, advocate, and judge. One of the most influential personalities in the Scottish Enlightenment, Home took an active part in an intellectual society of the 18th-century known as the Select Society. A founding member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Home acted as a patron to personalities like David Hume.

Thomas Brown was a Scottish poet and philosopher best remembered for his contribution to the development of the Scottish school of common sense. Among his most important work is a critique of the theory of transmutation by Erasmus Darwin. Titled Observations on the zoonomia of Erasmus Darwin, his critique was praised as a mature work by several scholars and critics.

James Beattie was a Scottish philosopher, moralist, educator, and poet. His philosophical writings and poetry, which opposed slavery, are widely viewed as the primary source of Immanuel Kant's knowledge of David Hume. James Beattie, who was among the members that established the Royal Society of Edinburgh, is one of the 16 personalities depicted on the famous Scott Monument.

Hector Boece was a Scottish historian and philosopher best remembered for his role as the first principal of King's College, a precursor of the University of Aberdeen, where he often delivered lectures on divinity and on medicine. He is also remembered for his books, History of the Scottish People and Lives of the Bishops of Murthlack and Aberdeen. 

Edward Caird was a Scottish philosopher best remembered as one of the founders of the Glasgow and West of Scotland Association for Women's Suffrage. Also an educator, Caird taught at the University of Glasgow where John Watson was one of his students. Edward Caird also wrote several influential books, such as The Evolution of Religion.

Hugh Blair was a Scottish writer, rhetorician, and minister of religion. As a minister of religion, Blair had a major impact in both the secular and the spiritual realms. He also played an important role in the Scottish Enlightenment and is credited with co-founding the Royal Society of Edinburgh. From 1789 to 1796, he served as the academy's Literary President.

John Macquarrie was a Scottish-born philosopher, theologian, and Anglican priest. One of the most celebrated systematic theologians of the 20th century, Macquarrie was presented with several prestigious honors during his illustrious career that spanned more than six decades. John Macquarrie is also remembered for his works, such as An Existentialist Theology, The Scope of Demythologizing, and Principles of Christian Theology.

Robert Balfour was a Scottish philosopher best remembered for his association with the College of Guienne, where he served as the principal for many years. He is credited with popularizing the praefervidum ingenium Scotorum throughout Europe. A copy of his best known work Commentarii in Organum Logicum Aristotelis is preserved in the British Museum.