The Enlightenment17th-18th Century

The Enlightenment

• Emergence of a secular world view for the 1st time in human history– Natural science & reason

could explain all aspects of life– Basic assumption: faith in

reason rather than faith in revelation

– Deism: religious arm of the Enlightenment

• Belief that scientific method could explain the laws of society

John Locke (1632-1704)

• Two Treatises of Civil Government (1690)– Philosophical defense for the Glorious

Revolution– State of Nature: humans are basically good

but lack protection– Purpose of government is to protect

“natural rights” of life, liberty, & property• Essay Concerning Human Understanding

(1690)– Stressed the importance of the

environment on human development: Education was the key

– Tabula rasa: human mind is born as a blank slate

– For progress to occur in society, education was critical in determining human development

The Philosophes

• Committed to fundamental reform in society– Extremely successful in

popularizing the Enlightenment

– Not professional philosophers (like Descartes & Locke)

– Believed in progress through discovering the natural laws of human existence

– Radically optimistic about how people should live & govern themselves

EnlightenmentPhilosophers

• Voltaire (1694-1778)– Most influential of all Enlightenment

philosophers– Challenged traditional Catholic theology– His influential social criticism inspired many to

call for change• will set the stage for Fr. Rev.• He hated bigotry & injustice• Called for religious toleration• Most famous quote against religious intolerance -

“Ecrasez l’infame” (Crush the infamous thing)

– Advocated “enlightened despotism” (a more benevolent form of absolutism) • Believed people were incapable of governing

themselves• Influenced several Enlightened Despots including

Frederick the Great of Prussia, Catherine the Great of Russia, Joseph II of Austria, & Napoleon of France

Voltaire’s Wisdom

• A witty saying proves nothing.• All murderers are punished - unless they kill in large numbers

and to the sound of trumpets. • All men are born with a nose and ten fingers, but no one was

born with a knowledge of God.• Anyone who has the power to make you believe absurdities

has the power to make you commit injustices. • Better is the enemy of good.• Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do.• God is a comedian, playing to an audience too afraid to laugh. • I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the

death your right to say it. (attributed)• If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent Him. • It is better to risk saving a guilty man than to condemn an

innocent one. • Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers.• No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible. • Opinion has caused more trouble on this little earth than

plagues or earthquakes. • The secret of being a bore... is to tell everything

Baron de Montesquieu(1689-1755)

• Member of French nobility• Hated the absolutism of Louis

XIV• Spirit of the Laws (1748)– Called for the separation of

powers in government into 3 branches

– Goal: to prevent tyranny– Principle of checks and balances:

no single branch becomes too powerful

• Significant impact on the creation of the U.S. Constitution & the French Revolution in the 1780’s.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)

• Social Contract (1762)– Believed too much emphasis on property

& not enough consideration of people was a root of all social injustice

– The general will (a consensus of the majority) should control a nation.

• Founder of the Romantic Movement– After the Fr. Rev., the enlightenment

emphasis on reason gave way to a glorification of emotion

• Believed that man in a “state of nature” was good – a “noble savage” – and was corrupted by civilization

• Emile (1762)– Believed in progressive education –

learning by doing, self expression encouraged

More philosophizing….

• Denis Diderot– The Encyclopedia!!!!!! (1765)– Perhaps the greatest & most representative work of the

philosophes– Vast compendium of social & political critiques from

Enlightenment philosophers & authors– Sought to teach people to think critically & objectively– The Encyclopedia was banned in France & placed on the

Pope’s Index of Forbidden Books• Marquis di Beccaria

– On Crimes & Punishment (1764)– Sought to humanize criminal law based on

Enlightenment concepts of reason & equality– Punishment should be based rationally on the damage

done to society– Opposed death penalty except for treason– Opposed torture to extract confessions– He influenced Enlightened Despots

• Frederick the Great of Prussia banned torture• Catherine the Great restricted use of torture• Joseph II of Austria banned torture & the death penalty

Economic Theory in the

Enlightenment

• Francois Quesnay– Leader of the physiocrats in France who

opposed mercantilism– Sought to reform the agrarian system by

instituting laissez- faire in agriculture– Believed Fr. Gov. & nobility had too much

control over land• Adam Smith

– Wealth of Nations– Considered the “Bible” of capitalism– Expanded on the laissez-faire of the

physiocrats– Economy is governed by natural laws of supply

& demand– Competition will encourage producers to

manufacture most efficiently in order to sell higher quality, lower cost goods

– Gov’t regulation only interferes

Women in the Enlightenment

• Played a major role in the salon movement– The brightest minds assembled in salons

to discuss the major issues of the day– Women organized salons & took part in

the discussions• Madame Geoffren• Louise de Warens

– Geoffren was a major patron the Diderot’s Encyclopedia

• Philosophes favored increased rights & education for women

• In England, Mary Wollstonecraft promoted political & educational equality for women

Later Enlightenment

• Became more skeptical…• Baron Paul d’Holbach

– System of Nature– Argued humans are like machines, completely

determined by outside forces (determinism)• David Hume

– Claimed human ideas were merely the result of sensory experiences; thus, human reason could not go beyond what was experienced through the senses

– Undermined the emphasis on reason• Jean de Condorcet

– Progress of the Human Mind– His Utopian ideas also undermined the legitimacy of

Enlightenment ideas– 9 stages of human progress already occurred – 10th

stage brings perfection• Immanuel Kant

– Greatest German philosopher of the time– Separated science & morality– Science could describe nature, could not provide a

guide for morality

David Hume

Kant

Classical Liberalism

• The political outgrowth of the Enlightenment– Belief in liberty of the individual– Equality before the law (but not

democracy)– “Natural rights”– Impact of Locke & Montesquieu

evident in the US Constitution & French Declaration of the Rights of Man

– “general will” influenced Fr. Rev. • Belief in laissez-faire capitalism• Belief in progress• Religious toleration, freedom of

speech & the press, justice punishments, & equal treatment

Religion in the Enlightenment

• New Christian groups opposed the Enlightenment– Secular & deist views of the Enlightenment

caused a reaction among Christian leaders• German pietism

– Argued need for spiritual conversion & religious experience

• Methodism (John Wesley – founder)– Taught need for spiritual regeneration & a

moral life – demonstrate one’s having been “born again”

• Jansenism (Catholic sect)– Argued against the idea of an uninvolved or

impersonal God• Jewish toleration

– Continued to be the despised minority– Some favored assimilation of the Jews but only

by the conversion of the Jews to Christianity

Impact of the Enlightenment on society

• Emergence of a secular world view of the universe

• Enlightened despotism in Prussia, Russia, Austria, and France (Napoleon)

• American & French Revolutions• Educational reforms • Growth of laissez faire

capitalism in the 19th century (during the industrial revolution in England & America)

Culture of the 18th Century

• High culture– literary and artistic world of the

educated & wealthy– Growth of publishing – Development of magazines &

newspapers– Public & private libraries

• Popular culture– written & unwritten lore of the

masses; social activities fundamental to most lives

– Festivals/Carnival– Taverns & alcohol

• Gin & vodka - devastate the poor

– Chapbooks • improved literacy rates