What was the Scottish Enlightenment ? Long since

ignored or sidelined, it is now a controversial topic -

damned by some as a conservative movement objectively

allied to the enemies of enlightenment, placed centre

stage by others as the archetype of what is meant by

« Enlightenment ».

In this book leading experts reassess the issue by

exploring both the eighteenth-century intellectual

developments taking place within Scotland and the

Scottish contribution to the Enlightenment as a

whole. The Scottish experience during this period

forms the underlying theme of early chapters, with

contributors examining the central philosophy of the

« science of man », the reality of « applied enlightenment »

in Scotland, and the Presbyterian hostility to the

spread of « heretical » ideas. Moving beyond Scotland's

borders, contributors in later chapters examine the

wider recognition of Scotland's intellectual activity,

both within Europe and across the Atlantic. Through a

series of case studies authors assess the engagement of

European intellectuals with Scottish thinkers, looking

at the French interpretation of Adam Smith's notion of

sympathy, divergent approaches to the writing of history

in Scotland and Germany, and the variety of Neapolitan

responses to Scottish thought; the final chapter analyses

the links between the « moderate Enlightenment » in

Scotland and America.

Through these innovative studies this book provides

a rich and nuanced understanding of Enlightenment

thought in Scotland and its impact in Europe and North

America, highlighting the importance of placing the

national context in a transnational perspective.