History and Nature in the Enlightenment

The mastery of nature was viewed by eighteenth-century historians as an important measure of the progress of civilization. This book discusses this topic in connection with the mainstream religious, political, and philosophical elements of Enlightenment culture. It considers works by figures that include Edward Gibbon, Voltaire, Herder, Vico, Raynal, Hume, Adam Smith and William Robertson. It also discusses many classical, medieval, and early modern sources which influenced Enlightenment historiography, as well as eighteenth-century attitudes toward nature.