The Fate of Reason in an Age of Belief

Award-winning film-maker and author, Stephen Trombley offers a fresh analysis of the key thinkers whose work from the Enlightenment to the present day is of continued importance as we proceed into the 21st century.

RSA Thursday

In his new book '50 Thinkers Who Shaped the Modern World', Emmy-award-wining film-maker and author Stephen Trombley offers a concise history of modern thought from the Enlightenment to the present day. Profiling the landmark philosophers, scientists, political and social theorists as well as spiritual leaders whose ideas have defined the age we live in, Trombley offers a fresh analysis of their key ideas, and re-evaluation of their importance as we proceed into the 21st century.

In a special event at the RSA, Stephen Trombley offers a stout defence of rationality in what he sees as an era of rising irrational belief; and argues for the continued utility of the work of the four “shapers-in-chief” of our modern world: Marx, Darwin, Einstein and Freud.

Speaker: Stephen Trombley, writer, film-maker and author of '50 Thinkers Who Shaped the Modern World'.

Chair: Jules Evans, philosopher, writer and policy director at the Centre for the History of Emotions at Queen Mary, University of London. Visit website.