ABSTRACT
Roy Porter challenges the notion that eighteenth-century science was driven by the utilitarian requirements of industrialization, arguing instead that it was one element in a broader Enlightenment culture, and was motivated by the pursuit of fashion and status rather than economic efficiency. However, Porter argues that this cultural resurgence was highly derivative, slavishly imitating London tastes and values. The growth of provincial scientific culture and its particular contours, its light and shade can be much better understood in context of the Enlightenment. In a word, provincial elites were attempting to bring Enlightenment to their own doorsteps. It is the porter contention that understanding provincial Enlightenment aspirations will put provincial science's development in perspective. But the Enlightenment itself is still a black hole in English historiography. Because, despite the recent advances in historiography which he has been discussing, the Enlightenment in England has continued to suffer almost total neglect.
