# Event Details - **Event Name**: What Happened to the Optimism of the Radical Enlightenment in the Early Nineteenth Century? - **Event Start and End Date**: Thu, 25 Jun, 2026 at 04:00 pm - **Event Description**: This lecture, a concluding contribution to the conference The Enlightenment and Liberalism: Continuities and Discontinuities Between the Eighteenth and the Nineteenth Centuries seeks to present an overview of the Liberalism of early nineteenth-century Europe emerging in the wake of the Congress of Vienna of 1815. The incompleteness and gaps of the Counter-Enlightenment reaction across much of Europe in the wake of Napoleon’s defeat quickly created a deep crisis of restored monarchy, aristocracy and church authority which arguably proved conducive to a far more optimistic Liberal tendency in the 1820s than historians have often been willing to acknowledge. The main thrust of this contribution is to consider, by adopting Nathaniel Wolloch’s characterization of the divide between moderate and radical Liberalism, the relationship of these linked tendencies to the prevailing pre-1800 pattern of division of the Western Enlightenment into moderate and radical tendencies. The central question is: how far was the tension between the two wings of early nineteenth-century Western Liberalism in essence just an extension of the two conflicting tendencies that shaped the Enlightenment and how far had they transitioned into an essentially new framework? Jonathan Israel is a British historian, and one of the world’s leading scholars in early modern and modern colonial history, Enlightenment studies, Dutch history, and Jewish studies. His work in all of these fields has transformed current scholarship all over the world. Israel’s recent work has been focused on the impact of radical thought, on the Enlightenment and on the emergence of modern ideas of democracy, equality, toleration, freedom of the press, and individual freedom. His books include Radical Enlightenment: Philosophy and the Making of Modernity 1650-1750 (2002); The Enlightenment that Failed: Ideas, Revolution, and Democratic Defeat, 1748-1830 (2019); and Spinoza, Life and Legacy (2023). He has been awarded many times, recently with Comenius Prize 2017, PROSE Award 2015 and City of Amsterdam, Frans Banninck Cocq Medal 2012. https://www.phil.muni.cz/en/all-events/u/what-happened-to-the-optimism-of-the-radical-enlightenment-in-the-early-nineteenth-century - **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/brno/what-happened-to-the-optimism-of-the-radical-enlightenment-in-the-early-nineteenth-century/200030254571340 - **Event Categories**: business, conferences - **Interested Audience**: - total_interested_count: 14 ## Ticket Details ## Event venue details - **city**: Brno - **state**: JM - **country**: Czech Republic - **location**: Arne Nováka 1, 602 00 Brno, Czech Republic - **lat**: 49.20041 - **long**: 16.59849 - **full address**: Arne Nováka 1, 602 00 Brno, Czech Republic, Arne Nováka 1/1, 602 00 Brno, Česko, Brno, Czech Republic ## Event gallery - **Alt text**: What Happened to the Optimism of the Radical Enlightenment in the Early Nineteenth Century? - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events5/banners/71e8a6ecbe2d969480280524a81e2fc9c035b13f45b250b3bc8ceaedbdfb01a7-rimg-w1200-h675-dc4bc8ff-gmir?v=1782287312 ## FAQs - **Q**: When and where is What Happened to the Optimism of the Radical Enlightenment in the Early Nineteenth Century? being held? - **A:** What Happened to the Optimism of the Radical Enlightenment in the Early Nineteenth Century? takes place on Thu, 25 Jun, 2026 at 04:00 pm to Thu, 25 Jun, 2026 at 04:00 pm at Arne Novaka 1, 602 00 Brno, Czech Republic, Arne Novaka 1/1, 602 00 Brno, Česko, Brno, Czech Republic. - **Q**: Who is organizing What Happened to the Optimism of the Radical Enlightenment in the Early Nineteenth Century?? - **A:** What Happened to the Optimism of the Radical Enlightenment in the Early Nineteenth Century? is organized by Historický ustav FF MU. - **Q**: Who is this event for? Is it right for me? - **A:** What Happened to the Optimism of the Radical Enlightenment in the Early Nineteenth Century? is ideal for professionals, entrepreneurs, startup founders, and networking enthusiasts eager to grow their connections. Whether you're a first-time attendee or a longtime enthusiast in Brno, this event is thoughtfully curated to deliver a standout experience worth every moment. If What Happened to the Optimism of the Radical Enlightenment in the Early Nineteenth Century? sounds like your kind of event, don't wait - spots fill up fast. ## Structured Data (JSON-LD) ```json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Event", "name": "What Happened to the Optimism of the Radical Enlightenment in the Early Nineteenth Century?", "image": "https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events5/banners/71e8a6ecbe2d969480280524a81e2fc9c035b13f45b250b3bc8ceaedbdfb01a7-rimg-w1200-h675-dc4bc8ff-gmir?v=1782287312", "startDate": "2026-06-25", "url": "https://allevents.in/brno/what-happened-to-the-optimism-of-the-radical-enlightenment-in-the-early-nineteenth-century/200030254571340", "location": { "@type": "Place", "name": "Arne Nováka 1, 602 00 Brno, Czech Republic", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "Arne Nováka 1/1, 602 00 Brno, Česko", "addressLocality": "Brno", "addressRegion": "JM", "addressCountry": "CZ" }, "geo": { "@type": "GeoCoordinates", "latitude": "49.20041", "longitude": "16.59849" } }, "eventAttendanceMode": "https://schema.org/OfflineEventAttendanceMode", "description": "This lecture, a concluding contribution to the conference The Enlightenment and Liberalism: Continuities and Discontinuities Between the Eighteenth and the Nineteenth Centuries seeks to present an overview of the Liberalism of early nineteenth-century Europe emerging in the wake of the Congress of V", "organizer": [ { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Historick stav FF MU", "url": "https://allevents.in/org/historický-ústav-ff-mu/19006415" } ] } ] ```