The achievements and legacy of the Scottish Enlightenment, inspired by the work of Christopher Berry The Scottish Enlightenment has been one of the growth fields in scholarship on eighteenth-century intellectual history. The era is renowned for its seminal and interrelated contributions to understanding the emergence of the human sciences, the framing of modern political economy and for its pioneering study of commercial society. This collection of specially commissioned essays, examines the texts and central achievements of the Scottish Enlightenment. It focuses on the transformative contribution of the Scottish literati to modernity by examining three central themes: the Scots' pioneering conception of commercial society, the equally pioneering development of the Scots 'science of human nature, ' and the emergence of the modern political economy. An international group of Scottish Enlightenment scholars from a variety of disciplines provide explorations for these achievements, with a special focus on the work of Adam Smith and David Hume. They take their launching point from themes in the work of Professor Christopher J. Berry who is internationally known and respected for the work he has done to establish the coherence and significance of the Scottish Enlightenment. R. J. W. Mills, Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellow in History, Queen Mary, University of London. Craig Smith is Adam Smith Senior Lecturer in the Scottish Enlightenment in the School of Social and Political sciences at the University of Glasgow.
