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- Title
Reid on Particularism, Habit, and Personal Identity.
- Authors
Kim, Jong Won
- Abstract
Are the first principles in the philosophy of Thomas Reid derived inductively from particular experience, or are they self-evident? Is Reid an epistemic particularist, or a methodist? Some scholars interpret him as an epistemic particularistic, while others hold that he is a methodist like other philosophers of his time. This debate was central to an exchange between Roderick Chisholm and Keith Lehrer. Taking the general belief in personal identity as an example, this paper aims to show which interpretation is more consistent with Reid's whole philosophical system. Although Reid believes that the general belief is self-evident without reasoning, it is not self-evident in the way that beliefs in particular cases are. Reid's overall philosophical method makes the self-evidence of particular beliefs more basic, the self-evidence of general beliefs being transferred from particular beliefs by means of habit. I conclude that the particularistic interpretation is more consistent with his whole philosophical system than the methodist interpretation.
- Subjects
REID, Thomas, 1710-1796; PARTICULARISM (Theology); HABIT; IDENTITY (Psychology); CHISHOLM, Roderick M., 1916-1999; LEHRER, Keith
- Publication
Journal of Scottish Philosophy, 2015, Vol 13, Issue 3, p203
- ISSN
1479-6651
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3366/jsp.2015.0104