French Literature Reviews - 2026

Antoine Lilti, The Legacy of the Enlightenment: The Ambivalences of Modernity
History, Politics and Society

The Legacy of the Enlightenment. The Ambivalences of Modernity

Antoine Lilti

Seuil, coll. Hautes Etudes

Publication date 12/09/2019

416 p. — EAN 9782021427899

In public discourse, the Enlightenment is frequently invoked as a struggle against obscurantism—a battle often framed as simply needing to be updated. Totalizing and frequently simplistic readings associate it with the cult of Progress, political liberalism, and a disembodied universalism.

Yet, as Antoine Lilti demonstrates here, the Enlightenment did not offer a cohesive philosophical doctrine or a shared political project. By examining both iconic and lesser-known authors, he seeks to restore the historical complexity of the Enlightenment and rethink what we owe to it: a complex set of questions and problems, far removed from any reassuring ready-made ideology.

Consequently, the Enlightenment emerges as a collective response to the emergence of modernity, the ambivalences of which continue to shape our world today. Tracing a path from Voltaire's inquiries into colonial trade and slavery to Michel Foucault’s final reflections, while engaging with postcolonial critique and the dilemmas of the philosopher facing the public, The Legacy of the Enlightenment offers a deeply refreshed portrait of a movement we must rediscover, as it continues to speak directly to us.

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Two articles on this book can be read on en-attendant-nadeau.fr:

— "The Enlightenment Today", by Maïté Bouyssy (published November 5, 2019)

The legacy of the Enlightenment reflects historian Antoine Lilti’s mastery of the 18th century. He examines what a supposedly shared heritage of religious tolerance, personal emancipation, and the exercise of reason in the public sphere might entail, while fostering a genuine passion for scholarship. This book brings together concepts that appear complex and ambiguous, yet speak directly to our contemporary condition. Well-versed in the sociability of Ancien Régime salons, Antoine Lilti engages with postcolonial critiques that challenge the Eurocentric worldview of the Enlightenment, thereby highlighting the cutting edge of current research: the dominance of Anglo-Saxon scholarship shaping each chapter.

— "The Credit of the Enlightenment", by Pascal Engel (published November 5, 2019)

See also on nonfiction.fr:

"The Enlightenment, Between History and Philosophy", by Benjamin Caraco (published November 19, 2019)

And on laviedesidees.fr:

"History of a Chiasmic Century", by Blaise Bachofen (published March 4, 2020)

What remains of the Enlightenment today? In what ways do the questions it raised still concern us? These queries recur frequently, yet the answers provided are often quite conventional. Nevertheless, they remain essential, as A. Lilti explains, and demand the utmost rigor.

Discussions surrounding eighteenth-century philosophy frequently reduce a diverse intellectual current to simplified notions of progress and political liberalism. Historical and philosophical scholarship in modern intellectual history often examines how eighteenth-century thinkers responded to emerging social and economic transformations during the Ancien Régime. Antoine Lilti examines both iconic and lesser-known authors to avoid totalizing readings, tracing a path from Voltaire's inquiries into colonial trade and slavery to Michel Foucault's final reflections. By addressing the dilemmas of the philosopher facing the public and engaging with postcolonial critique, the volume presents the Enlightenment as a collective response to the ambivalences of modernity.

The ongoing debate over the heritage of religious tolerance, personal emancipation, and the exercise of reason in the public sphere demonstrates how eighteenth-century intellectual history continues to inform contemporary political discourse. Readers interested in historical approaches to modernity, postcolonial perspectives on European thought, and the evolving relationship between philosophy and the public sphere may find this work relevant. The study brings together complex concepts and examines the legacy of the Enlightenment without relying on ready-made ideologies, offering a refreshed portrait of a movement whose questions still concern us today.