Any claim to rule is invariably based on prior assertions about what knowledge is necessary to “good government” and how this knowledge is to be obtained. When the value of such knowledge comes to be questioned by a critical mass of the population—what some political scientists refer to as “noise in the system”—a social revolution is in process. In this sense, the Enlightenment of the 17th and 18th centuries in Western Europe represents one of the most profound revolutions in human history. As such, it has encouraged reactions which, if not quite as profound, are extremely significant in their scope and power. This course will explore the resulting complexities of this situation and try to figure out their consequences for contemporary politics.