Portrait of Lord Melvyn Bragg, host of In Our Time

Enlightenment philosophy

The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment was an intellectual and philosophical movement that dominated Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries with global influences and effects. The Enlightenment included a range of ideas centered on the value of human happiness, the pursuit of knowledge obtained by means of reason and the evidence of the senses, and ideals such as natural law, liberty, progress, toleration, fraternity, constitutional government, and separation of church and state.The Enlightenment was preceded by the Scientific Revolution and the work of Francis Bacon, John Locke, among others.

2 episodes

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  1. The Enlightenment in Britain

    Melvyn Bragg examines the part British thinkers played in the Enlightenment in the 18th century, and examines whether the shifts of thought in those years provided the platform for the modern world.

    18 January 2001

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    Featuring: Roy Porter, Linda Colley, Jeremy Black

     
  2. The Enlightenment in Scotland

    Melvyn Bragg discusses the emergence and impact of the Scottish Enlightenment which was led by the philosopher David Hume and the father of modern economics, Adam Smith.

    5 December 2002

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    Featuring: Tom Devine, Karen O'Brien, Alexander Broadie