A better way of looking at our past

David Malouf has pointed out that Australian English is the product of what he calls "late-Enlightenment English". John Gascoigne has established how important the Enlightenment and its values were during the formative period of the Australian colonies in the first half of the 19th century. The Enlightenment has been crucial in Australian history and its values have informed the growth of the Australian nation.

The Enlightenment sought to express the values of reason and rational inquiry. It was characterised by a systematic spirit of inquiry in opposition to an addiction to a dogmatic system.

In contrast to the fierce logic that marks both Marxism and postmodernism, the Enlightenment fostered a spirit of being reasonable and behaving in a civilised and humane fashion.

The great Scottish philosopher and historian David Hume embodied this spirit, combining a sceptical approach to knowledge with a calm and balanced disposition.

The Enlightenment expressed what is best in Western civilisation by its tolerance, its moderation and its desire to use reason as well as to be sceptical when approaching any set of conclusions. These are the values that are now sorely needed at a time when the world is threatened by the narrow-minded and fierce dogmatism out of which terrorism has emerged.

And, most important, these are values, as Malouf has rightly argued, that have marked Australia's inheritance from Britain.

It was most appropriate that the Prime Minister appeal to Western civilisation and its Enlightenment manifestation in his Australia Day address. The address disproves once and for all Judith Brett's argument that Howard's understanding of Australia is limited to an updated version of the old "Australian legend" and its narrow and parochial understanding of Australia.

In his few sentences the Prime Minister enunciated a vision for a new style of Australian history. In opposition to the old history, that too often has had as its main objective the indoctrination of students into a set of narrow dogmas, he has provided the outline of an Australian history that is humane and open-minded in approach, and which will enlarge the outlook of our young people.

Let us hope that a "coalition of the willing" emerges to make this vision a reality.