Enlightenment is seen as the age of reason. The assumption of several philosophers of the time was that the public use of reason could shed light on the darkness that absolutism, supported by religion, had to account for. Enlightenment stands for universal values ​​such as liberty, equality and solidarity. Whether these values ​​are universal is disputed by some philosophers. They also challenge the weight given to the importance of reason. However, isn't the public use of reason of great importance in times of fake news and alternative facts? Shouldn't the values ​​of Enlightenment be defended all the more in view of the great lack of freedom, the inequality and the desolidarisation in the world? These and other topical questions are discussed in this series on the basis of five philosophers.

The individual lectures
​1.  Reasonableness and Humanity: Voltaire, 1694–1778 (13 Sep)
2.  Materialism and Atheism: Diderot, 1713–1784 (20 Sep)
3.  Sovereignty and Authenticity: Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 1712–1778 (27 Sep)
4.  Passion and Doubts: David Hume, 1711–1776 (4 Oct)
5.  The Public Use of Reason: Immanuel Kant, 1724–1804 (11 Oct)