Professor Andrew Lincoln: inaugural lecture

What effect does war have upon public opinion? Can civilians influence — or even know — what happens in a war zone? How can ideas of justice and humanity be applied to deadly conflicts in which national interest is at stake? Such questions began to assume a new importance in eighteenth-century Britain, where the development of civil society coincided with massively increased investment in war. This lecture will consider the problems encountered by two writers, David Hume and Adam Smith, as they attempted to reconcile the new conditions of war with their ideas of progress.