Select Society
E57893
The Select Society was an 18th-century Edinburgh debating club of leading Scottish Enlightenment thinkers that fostered intellectual exchange and public discourse.
Statements (46)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
18th-century debating society
→
Scottish Enlightenment institution → learned society → |
| activity |
formal debates on questions of taste, politics, and philosophy
→
public speaking practice → |
| aimedAt |
improvement of eloquence among Scottish elites
→
|
| contributedTo |
development of public sphere in Scotland
→
spread of Enlightenment ideas in Britain → |
| country |
Kingdom of Great Britain
→
|
| dissolved |
early 1760s
→
|
| foundedBy |
Adam Smith
→
Alexander Wedderburn → Allan Ramsay the Younger → David Hume → William Robertson → |
| genre |
literary society
→
philosophical society → |
| hasMember |
Adam Ferguson
→
Adam Smith → Alexander Wedderburn → Allan Ramsay the Younger → Andrew Stuart → David Hume → Henry Home, Lord Kames → Hugh Blair → James Oswald → William Robertson → |
| historicalPeriod |
18th century
→
|
| inception |
1754
→
|
| influenced |
Edinburgh Society for Encouraging Arts, Sciences, Manufactures, and Agriculture
→
|
| influencedBy |
London debating clubs
→
|
| languageOfWorkOrName |
English
→
|
| locatedIn |
Edinburgh
→
Scotland → |
| meetingPlace |
Edinburgh taverns and assembly rooms
→
|
| membershipPolicy |
invitation-based membership
→
male-only membership → |
| notableFor |
bringing together leading figures of the Scottish Enlightenment
→
cultivating standards of polite discourse → impact on Scottish intellectual and civic life → |
| partOf |
Scottish Enlightenment
→
|
| purpose |
fostering intellectual exchange
→
improvement of taste and knowledge → promotion of public speaking and debate → |
| rule |
members required to speak in turn on set questions
→
topics selected in advance for debate → |
Referenced by (2)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
Scottish Enlightenment
→
|
hasInstitutionalBase |
|
Adam Ferguson
→
|
memberOf |