For Immanuel Kant, the central theme of the Enlightenment—that great 18th century movement that emphasized the power of reason—was Sapere aude. This is usually translated as "Dare to know" or, more ...

These moves, by both institutions and citizens, are part of a relatively recent global reckoning with the dark side of the ...

David Hume, the pre-eminent Enlightenment philosopher, was born in Edinburgh in 1711. There he lived for many years, and there he died, perhaps the most famous Scot in history. It was thus ...

Who won the last culture war? I’m referring to the skirmishes over Islam, immigration, and liberal democracy that roiled the West in the aftermath of 9/11. In those years, the two opposing camps weren ...

The Renaissance is conventionally dated from the 14th to the 17th centuries, but the French term “Renaissance” was coined in the 19th. The major events of the “Scientific Revolution” are usually ...

Although the Enlightenment revolutionized human thought and transformed the world, it failed to produce a coherent theory of knowledge. The central reason is that the modernist systems of science and ...

The Enlightenment provides a touchstone for our understanding of modern history and, not least, for our sense of the current moment. More than two centuries ago, a shift in outlook sought to throw off ...

Why is Christian Science in our name? Our name is about honesty. The Monitor is owned by The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and we’ve always been transparent about that. The church publishes the ...