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Postcard from Edinburgh: Flannery on David Hume, Alfred Russel Wallace, C.S. Lewis, & More

Our colleague Michael Flannery, on a research trip to Edinburgh, Scotland, sent back these cool samples of the sights to be seen:

Hume.jpeg

The skeptic David Hume (1711-1776) is prominently acknowledged on the streets of Edinburgh in this highly stylized statue on High Street in Old Town. Despite his honorific status, Hume’s argument against miracles was convincingly dismantled in a critique by Alfred Russel Wallace in his book On Miracles and Spiritualism: Three Essays (1875), which anticipated C.S. Lewis’s equally devastating treatment 72 years later. Darwin was significantly influenced by Hume, as amply demonstrated in his private notebooks.

St. Leonard's Hall.jpeg

Today called St. Leonard’s Hall, this impressive mansion serves a number of purposes for the University of Edinburgh, including meetings and other social functions. Historically it is a striking example of the Scottish Baronial architecture of its day. Designed by John Lessels for the publisher Thomas Nelson around 1870, it sits alongside the picturesque Holyrood Park.

Sun setting on Edinburgh.jpeg

The sun setting on Edinburgh. This is near Arthur’s Seat, an 822-foot majestic extinct volcanic hill that dominates Holyrood Park.

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David Klinghoffer

Senior Fellow and Editor, Evolution News
David Klinghoffer is a Senior Fellow at Discovery Institute and the editor of Evolution News & Science Today, the daily voice of Discovery Institute’s Center for Science & Culture, reporting on intelligent design, evolution, and the intersection of science and culture. Klinghoffer is also the author of six books, a former senior editor and literary editor at National Review magazine, and has written for the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Seattle Times, Commentary, and other publications. Born in Santa Monica, California, he graduated from Brown University in 1987 with an A.B. magna cum laude in comparative literature and religious studies. David lives near Seattle, Washington, with his wife and children.

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