What does David Hume have to do with the Hunger Games? Sunrise on the Reaping, the new novel by Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins is inspired by the teaching of 18th century Scottish philosopher David Hume. It’s never a bad time to think about the problem of propaganda and the authority of the few over the many!

A reader from Highland council wants Scotland to do more to enable communities to invest in projects that help their own local public fund — and make Adam Smith proud. Printed Sept, 2024

Hume called it the "Science of Man" and held that it unified the other fields of study. Everything needs to be grounded on experience, tested by experiment, proven through observation. A new understanding of the natural world, and a new moral outlook for our human world, are things modern Scotland shares with the 18th c. Enlightenment thinkers.

John Ferguson, circling back, to say a few things about why today's energy transition reflects a new enlightenment – one that might share a lot with the original Enlightenment 300 years ago.