The Enlightenment (Studies in European History, 38) 2nd Edition

by Roy Porter (Author)

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ISBN-13: 978-0333945056

ISBN-10: 0333945050

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The eighteenth-century Enlightenment was one of the most exciting and significant currents of European culture. Battling against tyranny, ignorance and superstition, it formulated the ideals which still inform our society today: a belief in reason, criticism, freedom of thought, religion and expression, the value of science, the pursuit of progress. Enlightenment thinkers undermined the ancien regime and provided the ideas for the French Revolution. Modern scholarship, however, has shown it was a more complex and ambiguous movement than commonly recognized. This book, now in a fully updated second edition, sympathetically explores the complexities of the Enlightenment. Synthesizing and evaluating the latest scholarship, it offers a new and comprehensive vision of this many-faceted movement.

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About the Author

ROY PORTER sometime Professor in the Social History of Medicine at the Wellcome Centre for the History of Medicine, University College London. He has written widely on the history of medicine, psychiatry and the Enlightenment. His recent books include Doctor of Society: Thomas Beddoes and the Sick Trade in Late Enlightenment England (1991), London: A Social History (1994) and 'The Greatest Benefit to Mankind': A Medical History of Humanity (1997).
ROY PORTER sometime Professor in the Social History of Medicine at the Wellcome Centre for the History of Medicine, University College London. He has written widely on the history of medicine, psychiatry and the Enlightenment. His recent books include Doctor of Society: Thomas Beddoes and the Sick Trade in Late Enlightenment England (1991), London: A Social History (1994) and 'The Greatest Benefit to Mankind': A Medical History of Humanity (1997).

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Red Globe Press; 2nd edition (January 16, 2001)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 95 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0333945050
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0333945056
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 5.2 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 0.26 x 8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,020,571 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #4,004 in European History (Books)
- #9,533 in History & Philosophy of Science (Books)
- #15,576 in Great Britain History (Books)

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drollere

concise summary of the academic literature

Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2010

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this succinct text is basically a very high quality, informed and judicious "cliff's notes" overview of the sprawling academic literature on the enlightenment -- summarized at the end as an annotated, 13 page bibliography and a detailed, 7 page index. with repeated hat tips to peter gay's landmark, two volume study (1960), porter reviews subsequent confirmations and dissents from gay's narrative and major conclusions about the enlightenment in an "on the one hand ... on the other hand" style. the compact, briskly written chapters cover definitions of the enlightenment, the enlightenment project of creating a secular "science of man," the politics and religious attitudes of the philosophes, and the unity or diversity among the various enlightenment participants, both as individuals and as national, social and class movements. Porter's verdict: "The Enlightenment helped to free man from his past. In so doing, it failed to prevent the construction of future captivities" (tyrannies such as the french revolution and napoleonic era, exploitation of labor by capital, technological alienation, etc.).

2 people found this helpful

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Virginia A. Campbell

not Porter's best book

Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2005

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I recently discovered the late Roy Porter through his last book Flesh in the Age of Reason: The Modern Foundations of Body and Soul. After devouring that book I ordered both The Enlightenment and The Creation of the Modern World: The Untold Story of the British Enlightenment. The latter book lives up to my expectations but I was disappointed in the shorter book, which was no doubt constrained by the publisher's expectations since it is part of a series.

My chief complaint is that because the book is so short, it seems to assume that the reader is already familiar with the main characters of period. For me this was only partially true. Therefore, I would not recommend this as a introduction to the subject.

14 people found this helpful

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Charlie McKeon

Way too brief for such a broad topic

Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2012

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Make sure you realize how few pages there are. This is an exceedingly brief treatment of a topic, the Enlightenment, on which others have written volumes of full-length books-only 68 pages of text, quite pricey per page.

One person found this helpful

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Lewis Fried

Well worth reading

Reviewed in the United States on November 3, 2013

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This work surveys as well as interprets an enormous field. It does so, and does it well. It is an illuminating guide, especially pertinent to the student and general reader.

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Robert Wells

Too short

Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2012

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The book is too short for being taken very seriously, It looks like a book such as "Everything that you should know about the enlightenment in 2 hours".

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Edward M. Riley

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United States on September 16, 2015

OK gift to student

Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2013

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I'm totally enlightened now. I feel like a went to Haavad and not just to paak my cah like usual

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Bibliophile

Impressive, but...

Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2004

It appears that Roy Porter has a full-length book on British Enlightenment published by Penguin, and my review refers to that book and not this one, although both have the same title.

3 people found this helpful

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MJR

Interesting, informative but not simplistic.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 28, 2007

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Roy Porter has written an interesting and informative book. Although relatively short, (sixty-nine pages of text) this is not a simplistic account. It provides a critical appraisal of both the enlightenment and of previous historical analyses of this period. Porter outlines the issues and ambiguities of the enlightenmt, as well as differences between elightenment thinkers, countries and developments over time.

There are chapters on what is meant by enlightenmnet, the goal of enlightenment, religion, politics, who was involved in the enlightenment, and enlightenment and the wider cultural context. Overall, Porter gives a sympathetic account.

My knowlege of history is scant, and I read this book because I wanted to know what the enlightenmnet was. 'The Enlightenment' goes some way to answering this question, but I did find it required much concentration and effort. It may be that people with a some background in history would get more out of this book, but i did find it rewarding of the effort.

14 people found this helpful

Mr BW

Simple

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 9, 2010

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Well, there's not really all that much to write about this book. It kind of says it all in the title.
What I have found is that it presents the topic in a perfectly understandable way, doesn't over-confuse things and is a perfect companion to studies of the Enlightenment.
It's not the most detailed of books ever, but it's not claiming to be. But for an overview of the topic, does what it says on the tin.

3 people found this helpful

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The Enlightenment (Studies in European History, 38) 2nd Edition

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