How is it that a small, poor country in northern Europe became one of the most dynamic centres of Enlightenment thinking? This free course, Science in the Scottish Enlightenment, examines the cultural, intellectual and religious characteristics of Scotland in the eighteenth century that led to the emergence of such intellectual pioneers as James Hutton, Joseph Black and William Cullen, and briefly describes their key ideas and findings.

After studying this course, you should be able to:

• understand developments in Scotland with regard to the Enlightenment period
• give Scottish examples from the community of philosophers and scientists from the Enlightenment period
• describe how these Scots helped influence the Industrial Revolution and the American Revolution.