Professor Peter Harrison gives his third Gifford lecture, entitled The Disenchantment of the World.
In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the contemplative approach to nature, along with the emphasis on religious and intellectual formation, was replaced by a more utilitarian project, and nature itself was stripped of much of its symbolic religious significance.This process of disenchantment was partly driven by religious factors.
At the same time, related developments saw the transformation of both philosophy and religion. The former became less concerned with the pursuit of the philosophical life, while a new conception of religion emphasised explicit belief and observable religious practice, and distinguished various 'religions' according to these criteria.
Recorded on 17 February 2011.