ABSTRACT

The Enlightenment was at its most dynamic in Scotland in the second half of the eighteenth century, after the defeat of the Jacobites. It was spearheaded by two scholars, outstanding not just in British but in European philosophical thought, David Hume, a moral philosopher whose ideas remained inspirational for centuries, and Adam Smith, whose The Wealth of Nations is considered the first work of modern economic theory. They advocated moderation and rationality.