In 1760, he was, to his surprise, appointed Professor of Moral Philosophy at Marischal College (later part of Aberdeen University) as a result of the influence exerted by his close friend, Robert Arbuthnot of Haddo.

The Essay, intended as an answer to David Hume, had great immediate success, and led to an introduction to the King, a pension of £200, and the degree of LL.D.

The first book of The Minstrel was published in 1771 and the second in 1774, and constitutes his true title to remembrance, winning him the praise of Samuel Johnson.

[6] James Beattie was born the youngest of six children of a shopkeeper and small farmer at Laurencekirk in the Mearns, and educated at Marischal, graduating in 1753.

[12] Philosopher John Immerwahr states that among contemporary scholars, Beattie is regarded as "a superficial thinker who is primarily known because he was the source for some of Kant's knowledge of Hume".

Beattie is one of the sixteen Scottish poets and writers depicted on the Scott Monument on Princes Street in Edinburgh.