The Enlightenment and Its Shadows

The Enlightenment, a broad and complex phenomenon, is a vital part of the history of European culture. It shaped intellectual life from the middle of the seventeenth century until the early nineteenth century and in its shadows many intellectual battles are still being fought. The contributors to this original and provocative book, The Enlightenment and Its Shadows (originally published in 1990) subject both Enlightenment and subsequent responses to it to critical scrutiny.

Passionately committed to an interdisciplinary approach, the contributions are drawn from a variety of disciplines: art history and theory, government, history, language and linguistics, literature, philosophy, sociology, music, economics—and present a distinctively broad and polemical view of the Enlightenment, which is enhanced by the imaginative use of numerous illustrations. The essays demonstrate the continuing importance of the Enlightenment to a range of debates of the time on such issues as human rights, nature, economics, and colonialism. They focus on England, Scotland, France, and Germany, and their innovative approach does justice to the complexity of figures like Voltaire, Ferguson, Kant, Burke, and Rousseau.

Essential reading for students of the history, literature, culture, philosophy, and politics of Europe between 1650 and 1820, the book will be invaluable for general readers interested in the period.