Virtue, Learning and the Scottish Enlightenment: Ideas of Scholarship and Society in Early Modern Scotland

This is a reassessment of the moral and theological foundations of modern Europe. It challenges a number of deeply rooted assumptions about the basis of both Scottish culture and of Enlightenments in general. It argues that the formidable dual influences of humanism and Calvinism forced a discussion about the essentially moral function of scholarship and learning to the very centre of intellectual debate in early modern Scotland, and that this in turn led to the growth of an "enlightened" community amongst the Scottish literati. As such, the text is a direct challenge to conventional accounts of the Scottish Enlightenment as an unanticipated, short-lived explosion of ideas. Virtue, Learning And The Scottish Enlightenment Is The Latest Contribution To A Growing Reassessment Of The Moral And Intellectual Foundations Of Modern Europe, Challenging Head-on A Number Of Deeply-rooted Assumptions About The Basis Of Both Scottish Culture And The Enlightenment. It Argues That Humanism And Calvinism Placed A Discussion Of The Essentially Moral Function Of Scholarship At The Very Centre Of Historical Debate In Early Modern Scotland, And That This In Turn Strongly Influenced The Emergence Of An Enlightenment Led By The Scottish Literati. Introducing The Works Of More Than Two Hundred Scholars And Thinkers From The Sixteenth To The Eighteenth Centuries, David Allan Explores Important - Though Usually Neglected - Aspects Of The Country's Intellectual Discourse. This Pivotal Book Is Both An Essential Reference Tool And A Thought-provoking Reappraisal Of The Origins Of Modern Scotland.--jacket. Introduction: 'fable And Falshood': The Historiographical Context -- Pt. 1. Early Modern Scholarship 1550-1740. Ch. 1. 'mighty Heroes In Learning': Calvinism And The Humanist Historian. Ch. 2. The 'honest Science': Reconstructing Virtue In An Historical Audience -- Pt. 2. The Enlightenment In Scotland 1740-1800. Ch. 3. Enlightened Identity And The Rhetoric Of Intention. Ch. 4. Historians And Orators: The Rise And Fall Of Scholarly Virtue. Ch. 5. 'signs Of The Times': The End Of The Enlightenment? David Allan. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [244]-266) And Index. Challenges conventional accounts of the Scottish Enlightenment, arguing that discussion about the moral function of scholarship and learning was forced to the centre of intellectual debate in early modern Scotland, leading to the growth of an "enlightened" community amongst the Scottish literati.