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Scotsman
4 days ago
- Politics
- Scotsman
Poll reveals majority of Scots have never heard of Scottish Enlightenment or David Hume
Sign up to our History and Heritage newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... A majority of Scots have never heard of the Scottish Enlightenment or Scotland's most famous philosopher David Hume, a new poll has revealed. The poll found 56 per cent of respondents did not know of the Enlightenment - the period in 18th and 19th-century Scotland characterised by a flood of intellectual and scientific accomplishments - nor of Mr Hume himself. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad A statue of David Hume against the backdrop of Edinburgh's Old Town | Scotsman/Canva The survey, commissioned by the David Hume Institute and carried out by ScotPulse, also found seven in ten (72 per cent) people were interested in history and wanted to learn more. Fewer than one in five respondents thought the past was not relevant to how their lives are lived today, the survey showed. Mr Hume is a historian and economist best known for his highly influential system of empiricism and philosophical scepticism published during the 18th century. But his views on race and his association with the slave trade has sparked criticism in recent years, with the University of Edinburgh removing his name from one of its campus buildings over concerns on the 'distress' caused to students. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad A total of 2,194 people aged 16 and over in Scotland were interviewed from February 4-10 for the poll. Susan Murray, director of the David Hume Institute, said: 'This survey poses an interesting question for an institute named in honour of one of Scotland's most famous Enlightenment thinkers. Does knowing about the enlightenment matter to Scots today? And what does it mean to be named after a historical figure that almost half of Scots have not heard of? 'When we began thinking about this, we had more questions than answers, but the survey told us we are not alone in wanting to understand more.' A footnote first published by Mr Hume in 1753, as part of a wider essay on national characteristics, contained the view there were several races of humans, but claimed all were inferior to white Europeans. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad A project, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, has aimed to investigate Mr Hume's legacy. A conference on the back of the project will be held in Edinburgh today.
Times
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Times
Does the assisted dying bill devalue life?
From Seneca in ancient Rome to today, discussions of death and the right to end life have revolved around three broad moral poles: sanctity of life, personal autonomy and protection of the vulnerable. Balancing them has never been a rational task, as these are values that we hold almost instinctively — to paraphrase the 18th-century Scottish philosopher David Hume, this is a matter where reason follows passion. The law should not shy away from this passion. It must, after all, continue to reflect social mores — no less so than in the question of death. To assess how the assisted dying bill will change the law's approach to death, we should first take stock of what it is now. In its most basic form, English
Daily Record
11-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
Fatcat chiefs at universities need a reality check
Scotland's universities face an unprecedented cash crisis but their pampered principles appear unable to climb down from their ivory towers. For years the sector has been cashing in on an international reputation for excellence dating back centuries. That reputation has everything to do with the Scottish Enlightenment of the 18th century when historic figures like Adam Smith and David Hume made huge advances in the fields of economics and philosophy. It has meant that in modern times students from around the world have flocked to our country to earn degrees that will be respected by leading employers on every continent. This success has very little to do with the relatively nonentities who now run these institutions while earning ridiculously inflated salaries. And now that the foreign student cash bonanza appears to be running out of steam it is time for these uni bosses to realise that the gravy train needs to stop. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. There is little evidence of this happening as can be seen from the Sunday Mail's exclusive revelations today concerning Professor James Miller, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of the West of Scotland (UWS). He earns a comically astronomical salary of £288,000 a year - almost double First Minister John Swinney. But he has still managed to rack up a further £37,429 on expenses in just two years jetting around the world to locations such as Barbados, Dubai and South Africa. It is difficult to imagine the 'strategic partnerships' he has been working on in these exotic locations will be of any great benefit to his students or the hundreds of his staff who are now facing redundancy. He is among 12 senior staff at UWS who have claimed more than £163,000 in travel expenses over the period. It is very likely this sort of extravagant spending on foreign trips will be replicated across other universities facing similar financial pressures as UWS. Meanwhile the universities of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Strathclyde and St Andrews are all paying their leaders £400,000 or more a year. These fatcats need to be given a lecture on accounting and humility and dramatically cut their own salaries and expenses in order to save at least a few of their hard working staff.
RNZ News
09-05-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Prime Minister's Science Prize Winners
Photo: Royal Society Te Apārangi/Rebecca McMillan Dr Linda Johnson and her team from AgResearch have been awarded Te Pūiaki Putaiao Matua a Te Pirimia, the Prime Minister's Science Prize. The $500,000 prize is awarded for transformative scientific advances with significant economic, health, social, political, cultural and/or environmental impacts here in New Zealand or internationally. The Endophyte Discovery Team's recognition comes from their work with endophytes - microorganisms, often bacteria or fungi, living within a plant which help rather than harm it. Dr Johnson says endophytes provide a sustainable solution to agriculture, reducing inputs by controlling pests and diseases. Susie speaks to Dr Linda Johnson, science group manager for resilient agriculture and principal scientist at AgResearch, and Dr David Hume, AgResearch senior scientist. Photo: Melanie Phipps This audio is not downloadable due to copyright restrictions.
RNZ News
06-05-2025
- Science
- RNZ News
Our Changing World: 2024 Prime Minister's Science Prize winners announced
A team whose discovery has boosted New Zealand agriculture by a potential $3.6 billion has taken out the top award at the prestigious 2024 Prime Minister's Science Prizes. Other winners include a researcher studying anxiety, an innovative science teacher, a high school student investigating stormwater treatment, and a virologist at the forefront of Covid-19 communication efforts. Awardees received their prizes at a ceremony held at Parliament on Tuesday 6 May, presented by Prime Minister the Rt Hon Christopher Luxon, and Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology Hon Dr Shane Reti. The Endophyte Discovery Team at AgResearch won the main Prime Minister's science prize. Photo: Royal Society of New Zealand The Prime Minister's Te Puiaki Pūtaiao Matua a Te Pirimia Science Prize went to Dr Linda Johnson and the Endophyte Discovery Team at AgResearch. The team's investigations over four decades led to the discovery of fungal strains that make ryegrass resistant to insect pests without adverse impacts for livestock. These helpful fungi are called endophytes, found living inside ryegrass - the predominant grass in New Zealand pastures. When ryegrass was first introduced to New Zealand it travelled here with its existing endophytes, but this team discovered that they were producing toxins detrimental to grazing livestock. So they went searching for others. Dr David Hume and Dr Linda Johnson working in the AgResearch greenhouse. Photo: Royal Society of New Zealand The first new endophyte strain the team found and developed, known as AR1, was commercialised in 2000 through New Zealand seed companies by AgResearch subsidiary Grasslanz technology . The gamechanger, however, was ryegrass seed with the endophyte AR37, which was launched at Fieldays in 2006. AR37 provides protection for the grass from five of the six main insects pests and was licensed by Grasslanz to PGG Wrightson and NZ Agriseeds. AR37 leads to increased grass yields and gains in milk and meat production, extensive trials have shown. It also appears to help the ryegrass in drought conditions. It was rapidly adopted by New Zealand pasture farmers, the majority of which now buy seed with this improved endophyte. Dr David Hume of the Endophyte Discovery Team at AgResearch. Photo: Royal Society of New Zealand While it can sometimes cause 'ryegrass staggers' in sheep - a neuromuscular disorder where animals stagger around, as if drunk - this happens less with AR37 than for other endophytes, and has not been seen in dairy cows. In 2017, ACIL Allen Consulting prepared a case study on AR37 for the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. They estimated the research and development programme that delivered this innovation cost $12 million. According to Grasslanz Chief Technical Officer Dr John Caradus, this consulting firm also gave an estimate of the economic value AR37 would contribute: $3.6 billion to the New Zealand economy over 20 years. Caradus says this is because New Zealand has excelled in both the research and the delivery of new endophytes. "Many teams have studied endophytes globally, but it was the New Zealand team that were the first to understand the chemistry of endophytes in the pasture and then identify useful strains." Looking to the future, the team is interested in developing novel endophytes using gene editing, with the upcoming changes to gene technology regulation in New Zealand likely to reduce barriers around this. They are also turning their attention, and expertise, to endophytes that might help cereal crops. Dr Linda Johnson of the Endophyte Discovery Team at AgResearch. Photo: Royal Society of New Zealand Learn more in this recent nine-to-noon interview with Grasslanz's Dr John Caradus , and listen to the Saturday Morning programme on 10 May for an interview with the Endophyte Discovery team. Dr Olivia Harrison from the University of Otago was awarded the Prime Minister's Te Puiaki Kaipūtaiao Maea MacDiarmid Emerging Scientist Prize for her research into anxiety. Harrison and her team are researching what happens to people's brains and bodies when they experience anxiety - including the connection and perception between the two. They are also investigating how different treatments - such as medication, exercise or stretching - can impact this brain-body connection, and can help people manage their anxiety. Dr Olivia Harrison uses breathing effort and perception to understand how the brain-body connection changes during anxiety. Photo: Royal Society of New Zealand An estimated one in four New Zealanders will experience anxiety disorder across their lifetime, and levels of anxiety, especially in young people, are rising. Learn more in the Our Changing World episode ' Anxiety and the brain-body connection'. Professor Jemma Geoghegan never set out to be a science communicator. But when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, her expertise in virus evolution and genome sequencing technologies became important to share. This work has now earned her the Prime Minister's Te Puiaki Whakapā Pūtaiao Science Communication Prize. Dr Jemma Geoghegan of the University of Otago wins the Science Communication prize. Photo: Royal Society of New Zealand While involved in the Covid-19 research response herself, Geoghegan became an important contact for the media and policymakers. She stopped counting once she hit more than 200 interviews. In her University of Otago lab, she and her team study the huge number of viruses that exist in wildlife. They're trying to understand what factors drive a small proportion of these to become pathogenic, or disease causing. In the last few years Geoghegan has been keeping a watchful eye on, and communicating about, highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1. This bird flu strain has been spreading around the globe and jumping to new hosts. Listen to the audio to hear her discuss science communication with Our Changing World's Claire Concannon. Dr Aidan Kiely, a science teacher and Head of Science at Aorere College in South Auckland, has won the Prime Minister's Te Puiaki Kaiwhakaako Pūtaiao Science Teacher Prize. Dr Aidan Kiely, a science teacher and Head of Science at Aorere College in South Auckland, has won the Science Teacher prize. Photo: Royal Society of New Zealand Having begun his career in molecular biology research, Kiely says he has always been passionate about sharing scientific ideas with others. At Aorere College he enables science projects that have real-life applications, such as working with engineers to install sensors in beehives and being part of restoring a local stream. Over the past six years, Kiely and his students have planted approximately 4,000 native plants along the banks of the stream. He says this project has made a strong connection for his students between science being a thing they 'know' and a thing they 'do'. Rena Misra, winner of the Prime Minister's Te Puiaki Kaipūtaiao Ānamata Future Scientist Prize, was recognised for her innovative investigation into the potential of plant-fungus teamwork. Rena Misra, a student at Epsom Girls Grammar school in Auckland, has won the Future Scientist prize for her research on removing pollutants from stormwater using plants. Photo: Royal Society of New Zealand A Year 13 student at Epsom Girls' Grammar School in Auckland, Misra built a hydroponic system in her study room to investigate a way to help remove pollutants from stormwater. She used a type of fungus to enhance the efficiency of plants filtering contaminants out of water. Using her homemade system, she showed that plants inoculated with the fungus were bigger and had longer root systems. Fungus-bearing plants were able to remove more copper from the water over three days than those that did not have the fungus. Future scientist prize winner Rena Misra set up a hydrophonic system to test how a plant-fungus combination might work to remove water contaminants. Photo: Royal Society of New Zealand Listen to the audio to hear Misra talk to Our Changing World's Claire Concannon about the research, and her plans for the future. Follow Our Changing World on Apple , Spotify , iHeartRadio or wherever you listen to your podcasts. 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