Vincenzo Ferrone – författare

The Enlightenment was a laboratory of modernity that changed the history of the Western world, helping to bring about globalisation and the rise of a powerful intellectual class. It gave the scientific revolution new methods and a new purpose by ushering in the sciences of man. At the same time, it constantly interrogated these new sciences, wary of the possibility that they might lead to discrimination rather than emancipation. The late Enlightenment, the most mature and productive period, developed its values and political ideals, such as the concept of liberty and of a constitutional and “republican” government, through its confrontation with the Ancien régime, the slave trade and imperial colonialism, and the betrayal of the revolutionary ideals in the Americas.

The World of the Enlightenment is a wide-ranging discussion of one of the most important cultural phenomena of the modern era. It covers topics from the scientific (such as the approaches of empiricism and humanism), the political (the rights of man, slavery and colonial independence) and the artistic (modern art and public opinion). The author discusses these topics thematically in ten chapters.

This book will appeal to scholars and students alike studying the Enlightenment and the history of intellectualism, as well as all those interested in the history of modern science, politics and culture.

Translated by Martin McLaughlin and Elisabetta Tarantino

The Enlightenment was a laboratory of modernity that changed the history of the Western world, helping to bring about globalisation and the rise of a powerful intellectual class. It gave the scientific revolution new methods and a new purpose by ushering in the sciences of man. At the same time, it constantly interrogated these new sciences, wary of the possibility that they might lead to discrimination rather than emancipation. The late Enlightenment, the most mature and productive period, developed its values and political ideals, such as the concept of liberty and of a constitutional and “republican” government, through its confrontation with the Ancien régime, the slave trade and imperial colonialism, and the betrayal of the revolutionary ideals in the Americas.

The World of the Enlightenment is a wide-ranging discussion of one of the most important cultural phenomena of the modern era. It covers topics from the scientific (such as the approaches of empiricism and humanism), the political (the rights of man, slavery and colonial independence) and the artistic (modern art and public opinion). The author discusses these topics thematically in ten chapters.

This book will appeal to scholars and students alike studying the Enlightenment and the history of intellectualism, as well as all those interested in the history of modern science, politics and culture.

Translated by Martin McLaughlin and Elisabetta Tarantino

A compelling reevaluation of the Enlightenment from one of its leading historiansIn this concise and powerful book, one of the world''s leading historians of the Enlightenment provides a bracing and clarifying new interpretation of this watershed period. Arguing that philosophical and historical interpretations of the era have long been hopelessly confused, Vincenzo Ferrone makes the case that it is only by separating these views and taking an approach grounded in social and cultural history that we can begin to grasp what the Enlightenment was—and why it is still relevant today. Ferrone explains why the Enlightenment was a profound and wide-ranging cultural revolution that reshaped Western identity, reformed politics through the invention of human rights, and redefined knowledge by creating a critical culture. These new ways of thinking gave birth to new values that spread throughout society and changed how everyday life was lived and understood. Featuring an illuminating afterword describing how his argument challenges the work of Anglophone interpreters including Jonathan Israel, The Enlightenment provides a fascinating reevaluation of the true nature and legacy of one of the most important and contested periods in Western history.The translation of this work has been funded by SEPS—Segretariato Europeo per le Pubblicazioni Scientifiche.