The ideas of Rousseau reflect many of our own deepest commitments and patterns of thought.
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
Articles on Enlightenment
Displaying 1 - 20 of 31 articles
Stan Grant’s new book, The Queen is Dead, is revealing in terms of his decision to step down from public life. ‘I have been reminded what it is to come from the other side of history,’ he writes.
A Steller’s sea eagle, native to the Asian Arctic, has traveled across North America since 2021. A scholar questions whether the bird is lost – and how well humans really understand animals’ actions.
ChatGPT is a sophisticated AI program that generates text from vast databases. But it doesn’t understand the information it produces, which also can’t be verified through scientific means.
From J.M.W. Turner to Yayoi Kusama, this exhibition explores 200 years of art about light.
Naturalistic thinking has long helped humanity grapple with complex urban predicaments. What role can it play today?
In a Japanese tree burial, cremated remains are placed in the ground and a tree is planted over the ashes to mark the gravesite. Environmental responsibility is part of Buddhism.
Taiwan’s death rituals come from multiple spiritual sources. A Taiwanese-American scholar explains what changes for those who make their home in the US.
Fun fact: the term ‘influenza’ comes from the premodern belief stars influenced disease. Before epidemiologists, there were astrologers.
For celebrated botanist Joseph Banks, his voyage with James Cook was more about extending imperial power than simply discovery.
All of the senses have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, not because the senses have changed, but because the world has, writes a sensory historian.
With dreaded, invisible germs lurking on surfaces and in people, our surroundings are seen as a minefield – and we end up dulling one of our most valuable senses.
It’s not a case of being afraid of different ideas, more that some people want everyone to think as they do.
Trump’s firing of witnesses who testified during his impeachment trial has been described as ‘retribution.’ But these actions are actually revenge, a political scientist says.
A recent article in The Atlantic called for a “new science of progress” - this is dangerous and ignores the academic study of the history of human development.
It might appear to many that atheism is a modern idea. However, in parts of Asia, particularly in India, atheism has been part of beliefs for thousands of years.
An antiquated Canadian law against magic and witchcraft is about to be repealed. A close look at its history reveals that it is far less superstitious than it appears.
Some today declare that “Western civilisation” is something we should all be simply “for”. But the enlightenment, central to this civilisation, shows how things are rarely so simple.
In Theravada Buddhism, ordaining to be a monk and donating the merit thus gained is one of the greatest honors that a person can give to another – in this case to the late Navy SEAL officer.
Steven Pinker’s latest work disturbingly casts aside the violent exploits and mechanistic logic of Eurocentric “progress.”
Top contributors
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Professor, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Technology Sydney
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Senior Lecturer in Philosophy and Education; Curriculum Director, UQ Critical Thinking Project, The University of Queensland
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Lecturer in History of Medicine/Life Science, The University of Melbourne
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Associate Professor in Philosophy, Australian Catholic University
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Professor of American Literature and Public Understanding of the Humanities, School of Advanced Study, University of London
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Lecturer in Philosophy, University of St Andrews
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William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science, Amherst College
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Associate Professor, RMIT University
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Associate Professor of Political Science, Brock University
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Professor of International Planning, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University
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Lecturer in English, University of Exeter
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Gates Cambridge Scholar in Classics, University of Cambridge
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Lecturer in Art History, University of St Andrews
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Professor of Modern History, University of Portsmouth
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Associate Professor in the School of Humanities and Communication Arts, Western Sydney University
