The Enlightenment and the Origins of European Australia by John Gascoigne

Book Description

Secondhand. Very good condition. Ex library copy with all external stickers removed. Protective plastic covering. Partial date due slip on inside page. Interior and binding are still excellent.

This book surveys some of the critical intellectual influences in the formation of Australian society by emphasising the impact of the Enlightenment with its commitment to rational enquiry and progress - attitudes that owed much to the successes of the Scientific Revolution.

The book's first part analyses the political and religious background of the period from the First Fleet (1788) to the mid-nineteenth century. The second demonstrates the pervasiveness of ideas of improvement - a form of the idea of progress - derived initially from agriculture, that were to shape attitudes to human nature in fields as diverse as education, penal discipline and race relations.

Throughout, the book highlights the extent to which developments in Australia can be compared and contrasted with those in Britain and the USA. (back cover)