It is as though light in this universe is an ancient, cryptic tongue, whose true meaning can only be deciphered by eyes unclouded by the dust of passing days, or a heart that holds the tenderness of a ...

The Dream of Enlightenment. By Anthony Gottlieb. Liveright; 301 pages; $27.95. Allen Lane; £20. WESTERN philosophy has had two golden ages. The first was the remarkable explosion of thought in early ...