Logic which trains the mind for the Analytic and Synthetic method of investigating and confirming truths by quite simple examples best prepares the way to the other Sciences. 2. All our Ideas arise from either sensation or reflection. 3. The root of possibility is not to be derived from the Divine will. 4. Animals are not automata. 5. The will by its nature is free. 6. The state of nature is not a State of absolute licence. 7. Moral rightness is founded in nature, but derives its obligation properly so-called from the Divine Authority to forbid and to command.
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On the Most Beautiful Structure of the Material and the Rational World
Which, if GOD Wills, are to be defended, under the presidency of GEORGE TURNBULL, Professor of Philosophy, in the Public Auditorium of the New University of Aberdeen at the customary hour on the 14th day of April by the following young gentlemen, who are honourably contending for the degree of Master.
| Alexander Blackwell | George Black | James George |
| Alexander Charles | George Blackwell | James Lesly |
| Alexander Gairden | George Rose | James McWilliam |
| Alexander Schanks | George Thomson | James Robertson |
| Alexander Udny | William Carnagie | John Douglas |
| Alexander Walker | William Erskine | John Milne |
| Andrew Webster | William Keith | John Rae |
| Archibald Chalmers | William Lessel | John Stuart |
| Arthur Forbes | William Moir | John Walker |
| Charles Forbes | James Barclay | Robert Paterson |
| David Mitchel | James Brodie | Thomas Forbes |
| David Reid | James Darling | Thomas Gordon |
| David Young | James Dugquid | Thomas Reid. |
Published at Aberdeen by James Nicol, Printer to the City and the University, in the Year of our Lord 1726. <2>
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To the Distinguished and Honourable
Patrick Duff, Esquire
of Premnay,1
noble Rector of this gracious University,
universally regarded for his singular humanity,
devoted friend of all good arts
these Academic Theses are gladly dedicated,
in witness of homage due,
by GEORGE TURNBULL, President. <3>
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Academical Theses
Those who insist that the World is not governed by mind are obliged to attribute design and reason to a Nature which neither perceives nor thinks. It is no less absurd to imagine that there are several deities, unless a belief is the more credible, the further it is from simplicity. But nothing is simpler than truth. There is therefore one mind which by its own force and reason moves and governs the whole of Nature. That this mind, to which all things are subject and obedient, is not jealous and malevolent, seems to us to have been proved by the sounder Ancients in the following argument. Where there is no clash of opposed interests, there is no malice. Without an adversary there is no conflict. The first and universal cause is not beholden or subordinate to any nature, and nothing can resist it. It is therefore utterly remote from all malignity of heart.2 And if there is one Father and Governor of all things, it is certain that his own advantage cannot be opposed to the safety and preservation of all things. He cannot intend anything with his mind but the most perfect provision for nature, nor can he go beyond that; and on the other hand there is nothing that can provoke him. An infinite Deity of an intractable and malignant character is in truth nothing but a ridiculous mingling in the same thing of perfect and imperfect, of powers and deficiencies that mutually destroy each other. It is therefore an infinitely good and perfect mind that moves and governs the whole mass of nature, and it manages all things most beautifully. That is powerfully confirmed by this Argument, which is also very easy to understand. On the assumption that there is a God—as assuredly there is—and all things are governed with the most excellent skill and design, it is nevertheless inevitable that many things will appear imperfect to us which are in fact most perfect and possessed of
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no fault.3 For a mind that has no grasp of the whole succession and Relationship of things, where all things are connected and adapted to each other, does not have <4> a full view of anything. But if there is no GOD—which it is wicked even to suppose—there can be no order, no consistency, and in short no good at all. For what can one expect from a blind impulse but randomness and inconstancy; or what from omnipotent evil but perpetual misery and disasters all around?
II
The supreme Craftsman himself alone has power to embrace the whole fabric of the World in his mind and thought. But the more closely we can see into the powers and motions of things, and the more extensive the portion of nature we can grasp with our minds, the more clearly we see that all things are ruled by the same divine reason, and on more careful examination many things which at first glance seem to be far otherwise, are discovered to give evidence of the most provident and cunning art. All things pretty well appear to be one, controlled by a single force and a single harmony of nature. From this it is reasonable to conclude that nothing misses its Mark, and that we should in all modesty acknowledge the feebleness of our minds, if anything seems to us to be inconsistent with this art. Before we can say of anything that it is well or ill designed, we must first of all inquire what is the function of the properties with which it is endowed, and what power they have in themselves; which parts are neatly fitted and combined with each other and which are less consistent with its purpose; or whether indeed it is subject to a nature outside of itself and what the effect
