Execution of Thomas Aikenhead

 Scottish Enlightenment  Comments Off on Execution of Thomas Aikenhead
Sep 192017
 

Site of Edinburgh Tolbooth197 High St, Edinburgh EH1

The story of Thomas Aikenhead shows how much Scotland had changed in the 50 years between the end of the 17th century and the period of the Scottish Enlightenment. It was in the Tolbooth that stood near the spot where a heart-shaped mosaic, the Heart of Midlothian, is now to be found that Aikenhead, a 20-year-old student at the University of Edinburgh, was held before being executed for basphemy in 1697. His crime was to mock the scriptures and call Jesus ‘an imposter’. Aitkenhead was the last person executed for blasphemy in Britain. If the philosopher David Hume had lived a few decades earlier his religious scepticism might perhaps have had more serious consequences for him.

An engraving of the old Edinburgh Tolbooth based on an eighteenth century painting by Alexander Naysmith.

An engraving of the old Edinburgh Tolbooth based on an eighteenth century painting by Alexander Naysmith.

Heart of Midlothian mosaic.

Heart of Midlothian mosaic.

Find out more

 

Statue of Adam Smith

 Scottish Enlightenment  Comments Off on Statue of Adam Smith
Sep 192017
 

Statue of Adam Smith192 The Royal Mile, Edinburgh EH1 1RF

The great economic theorist Adam Smith was born in Kirkcaldy in 1723. He studied moral philosophy at the University of Glasgow under Frances Hutcheson, whose chair he would later inherit. Hutcheson, a charismatic minister, had been one of David Hume’s most vociferous opponents. Smith also gave public lectures in Edinburgh including one on the ‘progress of opulence’, which formed the basis of his most famous work, The Wealth of Nations (1776). Influenced by an idea of Hume’s on the ‘partition of employments’ he isolated the basic principle that explains all social improvement: the division of labour. Smith is often portrayed as the prophet of neo-liberalism, but his Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) shows a deep concern for the role of conscience and sympathy in human affairs.

Portrait of Adam Smith (1723–1790) by an unknown artist.

Portrait of Adam Smith (1723–1790) by an unknown artist.

Find out more

Tomb of David Hume

 Scottish Enlightenment  Comments Off on Tomb of David Hume
Sep 082017
 

Tomb of David HumeOld Calton Burial Ground, 27 Waterloo Pl, Edinburgh EH1 3BQ

David Hume’s two key works, A Treatise of Human Nature (1739–40) and An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (1748), are still studied by students of philosophy today. Although he is now best known as a philosopher, in his own day he was equally famous as a historian. While his genius was universally acknowledged, his sceptical philosophy was extremely controversial and led to him being passed over for professorships at the Universities of both Edinburgh and Glasgow. Instead he found a job as librarian at the Faculty of Advocates. His Essays on Natural Religion were so provocative that he never dared publish them in his lifetime.

Portrait of David Hume (1711–1776) by Allan Ramsay.

Portrait of David Hume (1711–1776) by Allan Ramsay.

Inscription on the tomb of David Hume.

Inscription on the tomb of David Hume.

Find out more

The University of Edinburgh, Philosophy – David Hume

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy – David Hume

Grave of Archibald Pitcairne

 Scottish Enlightenment  Comments Off on Grave of Archibald Pitcairne
Sep 082017
 

Grave of Archbald PitcairneGreyfriars Kirkyard, 1 Greyfriars, Edinburgh EH1 2QQ

There has been much debate among historian about the extent ot which the Scottish Enlightenment was a consequence of the Union with England in 1707. The existence of figures such as Archibald Pitcairne (1652–1713) provides powerful ammunition fo those who trace the roots of the Scottish Enlightenment back to before the Union. Pitcairne was an noted Edinburgh physician and scholar. He had been professor of medicine at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands, but returned to Edinburgh in 1693. He was also an important early disciple of Isaac Newton, one of a group of Edinburgh Newtonians who played a significant role in the spread of Newton’s theories. His satirical writings criticising the Church earned him a reputation as an atheist and freethinker. Other inportant Edinburgh virtuosi, as they are sometimes called, included Sir Robert Sibbald (1641–1722) and Andrew Balfour (1630–94).

 

Portrait of Archibald Pitcairnce (1652-1713) by Rob Stranae.

Portrait of Archibald Pitcairne (1652-1713) by Robert Strange.

Inscription on the grave of Archibald Pitcairne.

Inscription on the grave of Archibald Pitcairne.

Find out more

John Playfair memorial

 History of Astronomy, History of Geology, Scottish Enlightenment  Comments Off on John Playfair memorial
Jul 252016
 
Stone edifice memorial to John Playfair on Calton Hill.

Memorial to John Playfair on Calton Hill

38 Calton Hill, Edinburgh, EH7 5AA

Mathematician, physicist and geologist, John Playfair is perhaps best known as James Hutton’s most influential disciple. His Illustrations of the Huttonian Theory of the Earth (1802) probably did more to popularise his theory than Hutton’s own notoriously impenetrable writings.  In his career he was consecutively professor of mathematics and professor of natural philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. As first president of Edinburgh Astronomical Institution he enthusiastically supported the construction of Edinburgh’s observatory on Calton Hill, which his monument stands beside, but sadly died before its completion.

 

Portrait of John Playfair by Henry Raeburn.

Portrait of John Playfair (1748-1819) by Henry Raeburn.

Find out more

The Oyster Club

 Chemistry, History of Science, Scottish Enlightenment  4 Responses »
Apr 172016
 

8-12 Niddry Street South, Edinburgh, EH1 1NS

The Oyster Club This weekly dining club for scientists and philosophers met regularly throughout the 1770s. It had been established by the great economist and political philosopher Adam Smith, the chemist Joseph Black and the geologist James Hutton. The club was attended by a veritable constellation of Edinburgh’s most brilliant thinkers, including John Playfair, Adam Ferguson, David Hume and Sir James Hall. It also payed host to a wide variety of visiting international scientists, including the French geologist Barthélémy Faujas de Saint Fond, James Watt the engineer and inventor from Glasgow, and Benjamin Franklin the American scientist and inventor.

Now a private venue – no free public access.

 Newer Entries