In Search of Humanity: The Role of the Enlightenment in Modern History

First published in 1960, In Search of Humanity: The Role of the Enlightenment in Modern History represents an analysis of the decline of moral and political standards in the 20th century in light of their development during the 17th and 18th centuries. 

Professor Alfred Cobban not only provides a thorough and comprehensible overview of the political ideas of the Enlightenment thinkers, but also illustrates how these ideas are relevant for our own age. 

Along with discussing the general tenets of the Enlightenment, Prof. Cobban also attempts to demystify some of the myths surrounding the impact that the Enlightenment had on the French Revolution, and political philosophy thereafter. 

Professor Cobban gives a clear outline of the profoundly classical liberal nature of the Enlightenment, which is the basis of the “humanity” he seeks to re-discover, treasure and cherish. Anyone intending to defend classical liberalism in our time should take heed of the ideas espoused in this book.