The Speculative Society

The Speculative Society is a Scottish Enlightenment society dedicated to public speaking and literary composition. The Society is mainly, but not exclusively, a university student organisation.

The formal purpose of the Society is met by acting as a venue for social interchange and for practising of professional competency in rhetoric, argument, and the presentation of papers among fellow members.

Organisations using the name The Speculative Society include:
*Edinburgh University, Edinburgh (formed in 1764), formerly for Law students;
*University of Southern California, mostly for Philosophy students;
*Harvard University, formerly, for Law students;

Influence

In the United Kingdom and especially Scotland, The Speculative Society has been said to have undue influence over the legal system, and be a secret society, due to the prominence of its members. These claims, largely emanating from one source, have been discounted in a Judicial Enquiry by Lord Gill.Fact|date=March 2008

Past members of the Speculative Society of Edinburgh include:
*Robert Louis Stevenson
*Sir Walter Scott
*Sir Nicholas Fairbairn
*Lord Cullen
*William Shee
*John Playfair

External links

* [http://www.law.ed.ac.uk/sln/index.aspx?page=209 Scots Law News] - School of Law, University of Edinburgh
* [http://www.ed.ac.uk/buildings/oldcollege.html Old College building] and [http://www.ed.ac.uk/buildings/playfair.html Playfair Library]
* [http://www.firstfoot.com/scotchmyth/ssoe.htm Speculative Society of Edinburgh] - [http://www.firstfoot.com/scotchmyth/ssoemembers.htm membership list 1947-2002]
* [http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/philosophy/graduate/speculative_society/ The Speculative Society, University of Southern California]
*cite web
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/2776409.stm
title=Court hears 'secret society' claims
date=18th February, 2003
publisher=BBC