William Cullen (1710-1790) and Robert Whytt (1714-1766) on the nervous system

Abstract

The long eighteenth century witnessed the full flowering of the Scottish Enlightenment, graced by figures such as Robert and James Adam, the architects; the chemist and physician Joseph Black, the discoverer of carbon dioxide ('fixed air'); Adam Ferguson, founder of the discipline of sociology; James Hutton, founder of modern geology; the philosopher David Hume and the political economist and moral philosopher Adam Smith. (Clayson, 1993). Their achievements amply demonstrated the characteristic pragmatic drive of the Scottish Enlightenment with its emphasis on the acquisition and promulgation of practical knowledge.