From the Enlightenment to the Neuroscience of Emotions

Did Adam Smith and David Hume, the celebrated thinkers of Scottish Enlightenment, really neglect the importance of emotions in human life? Or, on the contrary, did they realise the crucial role of certain feelings as a basis for a civilised society? What did the three great Scottish writers, Robert Burns, Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson, have in common? What are Edinburgh connections between poetry and psychiatry? And how does it all relate to current research?

Join Edinburgh Mental Health in marking Mental Health Awareness Week this year by participating in a special guided walk led by Human Cognitive Neuroscience Researcher and licensed tour guide, Dr Thomas Bak. Starting at Royal Mile and finishing at George Square, this guided historical walk will unearth unexpected links and challenge old stereotypes about Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Mental Health.

Meeting point: under Adam Smith monument, in front of Café Nero in the Royal Mile.

Finishing point: George Square