Abstract
The Scottish contribution to the Europe-wide intellectual movement of Enlightenment in the 18th century was unusually rich, covering moral philosophy, history, and political economy. It was not the simple product of the Union with England in 1707; more important were the gradual opening up of intellectual life and reform of the country’s intellectual institutions, notably the universities, and economic growth, rapid by the last quarter of the century. The Scots set the investigation of economic phenomena in a broad framework; led by David Hume and Adam Smith, they were particularly interested in the comparative development prospects of rich and poor nations.
This chapter was originally published in The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd edition, 2008. Edited by Steven N. Durlauf and Lawrence E. Blume
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Robertson, J. (2008). Enlightenment, Scottish. In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_1674-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_1674-2
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Chapter history
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Latest
Enlightenment, Scottish- Published:
- 07 March 2017
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_1674-2
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Original
Scottish Enlightenment- Published:
- 26 October 2016
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_1674-1