HI 215: Enlightenment

Spring 2026 –Ronald K. Richardson

The European-American “Enlightenment” movement of the 18^th century is typically credited with the “invention” or rapid development of many of the ideas, beliefs and ideals on which modern western individual liberty, democratic government and the idea of human rights are founded. Yet, there have been other notions of Enlightenment, some of which have existed for thousands of years, such as East Asian Buddhism, that are grounded on different conceptions of what it means to be human.  In dialogic relationship with alternative global visions of being human this course explores the18^th century European-American creation of a way of being founded on liberty, race, the idea of progress, and the invention of the autonomous self. Our focus will be in the so-called “Radical Enlightenment” typified by thinkers such as Denis Diderot, Thomas Paine, Baron d’ Holbach, but also including Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Voltaire. We will be deeply concerned with what it means to be a self in the world and with exploring the advantages and the disadvantages of our current notions of individual autonomy, and the implications of AI for the future of human nature, and the continued existence of individual freedom, democracy and human rights. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings.

Course description written by Professor Ronald Richardson.