This series already started, but welcome to join the last lectures.
In the Netherlands, right-wing intellectuals and politicians tend to present themselves as defenders of the Enlightenment. They believe the achievements of the ‘century of reason’ are under threat from Islam. Ironically, for a long time it was the left-wing intellectuals and politicians who had to defend the ideals of the Enlightenment (Freedom, Equality and Brotherhood) against the right. Whereas the left criticised the authority of church and state and strived for emancipation, the right wanted to maintain the ‘ancien régime’. The topicality of the Enlightenment is a good reason to focus attention on the work of the philosophers who played an important role in its development. Their thoughts and arguments about key themes can still provide inspiration for those who have not yet found what they are looking for.

The individual lectures:

1. Reasonableness and Humanity: 
Voltaire, 1694-1778 (3 Nov)

2. Materialism and Atheism: 
Diderot, 1713-1784 (10 Nov)

3. Sovereignty and Authenticity: 
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 1712-1778 (17 Nov)

4. Passion and Doubts: 
David Hume, 1711-1776 (24 Nov)

5. The Public Use of Reason: 
Immanuel Kant, 1724-1804 (1 Dec)