Wherever we look today in academia, scholars are rushing to defend the Enlightenment ideas of political and individual liberty, human rights, faith in scientific reason, secularism, and the freedom of ...

In Anthony Pagden’s sweeping new study, the Enlightenment constitutes a collective intellectual journey away from God toward a new understanding of man. His account of this journey is bookended by ...

Educators are refreshing history instruction by embedding Enlightenment philosophies into lessons on democracy, civic duty, and analytical thinking. From Locke’s theories on natural rights to ...

There’s something about the Enlightenment. Today, few educated men and women spend much time debating whether Western civilization took a disastrously wrong turn in the High Middle Ages. They do not ...

For Immanuel Kant, the central theme of the Enlightenment—that great 18th century movement that emphasized the power of reason—was Sapere aude. This is usually translated as "Dare to know" or, more ...

We've had months of discussion (and confusion) about the Big Society, years of entertainment from Big Brother, so perhaps it's only timely that this week will see the launch of some Big Ideas. It ...

Islamic terror has been trending down for five years. Some American officials said this would never happen. America has failed to properly fight terrorism, said ...

**This episode originally aired May 18, 2018. It may be tempting to think human civilization is on the verge of collapse: environmental degradation, the rise in authoritarianism, ballooning income ...

In the 18th and 19th centuries, Enlightenment ideals like natural rights, liberty, and reason ignited waves of political revolutions and nationalism across the globe. These philosophies inspired the ...