Scotland's Neglected Enlightenment
Glasgow's role in the Enlightenment is often overshadowed by Edinburgh, but Roy Campbell shows that the impetus came from the West with the pioneering work done in the city from the early years of the eighteenth century.
Popular discussion often implies that the Enlightenment in Scotland drew much of its originality from the rich cultural life of Edinburgh in the eighteenth century. That the largest and most cosmopolitan town in Scotland should have been the scene of some of the Enlightenment's most striking manifestations is hardly surprising, but confining the genius of the age geographically in this way detracts from its influence over the rest of Scotland. Examination of the contribution of Glasgow provides a salutary balance.
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