Thomas Reid’s Common Sense Philosophy Part 5: The Implications for Doing Apologetics

I hope that the points which follow will serve to place Reid, and by implication, Old Princeton, in a more objective and favorable light, and as a consequence, help Reformed Christians recover confidence in the proper use of Christian evidences when engaging . . . Continue reading →

Thomas Reid’s Common Sense Philosophy Part 4: The Decline of SCSR

Although more influential during his lifetime than Hume, one question lurking throughout this discussion is why Reid and SCSR fell into such relative obscurity so quickly if common sense is self-evident? The obvious reason is that Reid’s Inquiry was completely overshadowed soon . . . Continue reading →

Thomas Reid’s Common Sense Philosophy Part 2: On First Principles

The great conundrum faced by philosophers since time immemorial is the question “how do we know what we know?” This question falls under the subcategory of philosophy known as epistemology. Those who contend that all human knowledge arises through our senses are . . . Continue reading →

Who Was Thomas Reid and Why Does His “Common Sense” Philosophy Still Matter? (Part 1)

Thomas Reid (1710–1796) is best known as the founder and principal philosopher of “common sense,” or more properly, “Scottish Common Sense Realism” (SCSR). Reid was highly respected and quite influential in the days of the eighteenth-century Scottish Enlightenment, but the popularity of . . . Continue reading →

On The Rise and Fall of Dispensationalism

Hummel’s treatment of dispensationalism’s role in the politicization and formation of a distinct and commercially successful American evangelical subculture, along with its impact upon American culture and politics in general is a familiar but well-told story. Hummel contends that the rise of . . . Continue reading →