Tracts, Historical and Philosophical, Relative to the Important Discussions Which Lately Took Place Between the Members of the University and the Presbytery of Edinburgh, Respecting the Election of Mr. Leslie to the Professorship of Mathematics in That University: Volume 1

Tracts, Historical And Philosophical, Relative To The Important Discussions Which Lately Took Place Between The Members Of The University And The Presbytery Of Edinburgh, Respecting The Election Of Mr. Leslie To The Professorship Of Mathematics In That University" by Multiple authors. Tracts is a collected early-19th-century Edinburgh pamphlet that presents and analyzes a heated dispute over the appointment of a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Edinburgh. The volume gathers polemical tracts, minutes, letters, and appendices to expose tensions between liberal scientific inquiry and religious establishment, the rights of municipal patrons, and ecclesiastical processes such as avisamentum. Central figures include John Leslie, the mathematics candidate; Dugald Stewart, contributor to the Short Statement of Facts; and a network of ministers, professors, and town officials debating causation, the interpretation of a Note on Heat, and the broader implications for university governance. The material foregrounds a philosophical-political debate about scholarly independence, the boundary between church authority and academia, and the role of language and logic in defending or challenging alleged atheism. It engages with authorities such as Hume, Reid, Clarke, Barrow, and Price within a wider epistemological frame.