The University of Edinburgh Enlightenment Lectures
Enlightenment in the 21st Century
In partnership with ScottishPower, the University is hosting a series of speakers who will seek to examine aspects of the Enlightenment's legacy in the context of our own fraught and hectic times.
We invite you to join us as global leaders in politics, philosophy, science and economics discuss their views and outlook.
Latest Event
DNA, Dolly and Other Dangerous Ideas: The Destiny of 21st Century Science
Monday 22 October, 6pm, Assembly Hall, New College, 1 Mound Place, Edinburgh, EH1 2LU
Professor Ian Wilmut, leader of the team who created Dolly the sheep, and Professor David Porteous, chair of Molecular Genetics and Medicine at the University, were the latest speakers in our Enlightenment Lecture Series.
The event was presided over by Professor Grahame Bulfield, head of the University's College of Science and Engineering, and a former Director of the Roslin Institute.
In this latest lecture in the series, Professors Wilmut and Porteous discussed the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for the life sciences in the 21st century.
Listen to The Lectures
Enlightenment Podcast & Downloads
The full Enlightenment Series is being recorded and is available for download or as a Podcast subscription. See the Podcast page for further information on how to subscribe.
About the Enlightenment
The first enlightenment identified the link between ‘history’ and ‘human nature’. Its writers boldly asserted that we are perpetually adapting, even in terms of our moral character, influenced by factors beyond our individual control. And that crucially, these factors follow potentially discernable principles and patterns.
What is it to be Enlightened? Are we living in an Enlightened Age? Not since the days of Robertson, Hume and Smith have these questions been brought so sharply into focus.