This talk will explore how public understanding of science in Britain developed significantly over the course of the eighteenth century – a period not only crucial for the establishment of modern science but for the emergence of the modern world. I’ll explain why the eighteenth century is such a special period for the public understanding of science. Drawing on a detailed study of popular science works of the period, I’ll show how natural science came increasingly to be seen as having not only an intellectual value but as having a practical, moral and entertainment value. I’ll discuss just how unprecedented it was for a system of abstract ideas of nature to acquire such a wide social significance and how the emergence of a system of knowledge capable of exerting influence far beyond the intellectual realm marks the birth of a ‘scientific culture’ which is, essentially, the scientific culture of today.

Coffee, tea, cake and fruit will be served before the colloquium @ 2 pm.