The Enlightenment of the eighteenth century laid the foundations for much that informs the democratic ideals of modern societies.
Philosophers, scientists and theorists from England, France and the Netherlands - Isaac Newton, John Locke, David Hume, Voltaire, and Spinoza – asked questions we still debate: What is society? How do we know if something is true or not? What are man’s obligations to his fellow? Where do we come from?
The Britannica Guides to Ideas that Made the Modern World revisits these key ideas that range from the scientific proof for the motion of the planets in Newton’s Principia and the attempt to catalogue the entire world in Diderot’s Encyclopedie to the America Declaration of Independence, the foundations of modern capitalism, and the Bill of Rights. With an induction by A.C.Grayling, this clear, thought-provoking, and accessible book uncovers the roots of modern society.
The Britannica Guide series offers an essential introduction to key issues of our times. Clear, accurate, and meticulously researched, the series gives both the background and analysis for when you need to know for sure what is really happening in the world, whether you are an expert, student or general reader.
