The Enlightenment: A Beginner's Guide

Blamed for the disasters of the 20th century: Auschwitz, globalisation, Islamic terrorism; heralded as the harbinger of reason, equality, and the end of arbitrary rule, the Enlightenment has been nothing if not divisive. To this day historians disagree over when, where, and what it was (and sometimes, still is). Kieron O’Hara brings to life the history, politics, science, religion, arts, and social life of the Enlightenment and shows how it spawned some of the brightest thinkers in the history of humankind, from the radical Rousseau to the conservative Burke. Dr Kieron O’Hara is a Senior Researcher at Southampton University, UK