A foundational moment in the history of modern European thought, the Enlightenment continues to be a reference point for philosophers, scholars and opinion-formers. To many it remains the inspiration of our commitments to the betterment of the human condition. To others, it represents the elevation of one set of European values to the world, many of whose peoples have quite different values. But what is the relationship between the historical Enlightenment and the idea of 'Enlightenment', and can these two understandings be reconciled?

In this Very Short Introduction, John Robertson offers a concise historical introduction to the Enlightenment as an intellectual movement of eighteenth-century Europe. Discussing its intellectual achievements, he also explores how its supporters exploited new ways of communicating their ideas to a wider public, creating a new 'public sphere' for critical discussion of the moral, economic and political issues facing their societies.

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作为现代欧洲思想史上的一个基础时刻，启蒙运动仍然是哲学家、学者和舆论界的一个参考点。对许多人来说，它仍然是我们对改善人类条件的承诺的灵感来源。对其他人来说，它代表了一套欧洲价值观对世界的提升，而世界上许多国家的人民有着完全不同的价值观。但是，历史上的启蒙运动和 "启蒙 "的概念之间有什么关系，这两种理解是否可以调和？

在这本《非常简短的介绍》中，约翰-罗伯逊对作为18世纪欧洲思想运动的启蒙运动进行了简明的历史介绍。在讨论其知识成就的同时，他还探讨了其支持者如何利用新的方式向更广泛的公众传播他们的思想，创造一个新的 "公共领域"，对其社会面临的道德、经济和政治问题进行批判性讨论。

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