Thomas Reid and the Problem of Architecture

Abstract

The eighteenth-century Scottish philosopher Thomas
Reid (1710–1796) widely as one of as David Hume’s most perceptive
contemporary critics, wrote nothing about architecture. In his Essays on
the Intellectual Powers published in 1783, however, the essay on “Taste”
contains thoughts that are relevant to the aesthetics of architecture. The
purpose of this paper is to show that on a central question in the philos
ophy of architecture, namely “What transforms the activity of building
into the art of architecture?,” Reid’s essay can be used to throw more
light than the familiar approaches to aesthetics that take their cue from
Hume and Kant. The key lies in Reid’s exploration of the relationship
between beauty, grandeur and excellence.