The Enlightenment
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not the spiritual kind… The Enlightenment is the historical embodiment of the critical thinker’s ideal: a better world through better thinking.

Essays

Sweep of reason By Darrin M. McMahon
Reviewing the Encyclopedia of the Enlightenment is just the pretext for this excellent, highly compact overview of the Enlightenment and reactions to it. [24 Jun 03]

The Bright Stuff by Daniel Dennett
Come out as a bright. “What is a bright? A bright is a person with a naturalist as opposed to a supernaturalist world view. We brights don’t believe in ghosts or elves or the Easter Bunny — or God.” Being a bright is not quite the same as being a critical thinker, but they are closely aligned. (Yes, I count myself a bright.) [18 July 03]

Unreason’s Seductive Charms by David Barash
Reflections on why “unreason” often seems more appealing than boring old rationality.  Manages to be something more than just a stringing together of a lot of the professor’s favourite quotes.  [5 Nov 03]