Transcript The Age of Enlightenment aka The Age of Reason

The Age of Enlightenment
aka
The Age of Reason
18th Century Thought
Age of Reason
aka
the Enlightenment
• 1700s
• Truth via rational & logical thought!
• Everything in the universe can be
explained!
• Spread ideas via coffeehouses, salons,
secret clubs, published writings…
• Public Opinion thru common knowledge
Influences on the Age of Reason
Enlightenment
aka
Age of Reason
Scientific
Revolution
British
Example
Print
Culture
Early Philosophes
• Thinkers, writers, critics, reformers… Qs
• Directed at the growing urban society…
• Immanuel Kant… Dare to Know! Q!
Think!
• Denis Diderot >> Encyclopedia
– 17 volumes of known information
• Francois-Marie Arouet aka Voltaire
– Jailed in Bastille > exile in England >
travel
– Candide = satire attacking human
optimism
– Free Speech / Religious Toleration
Enlightenment & Religious Thought
• Established religion is hindrance to
rational thought & human development
• Against secularized Church of Old
Regime
• Deism
• God rational, “watchmaker”
• Q the Biblical narrative
• Against Judaism (primitive) &
Islam (fanatics)
– Spinoza: secularized Judaism...
God/nature
– Mendelsohn: blend w/ Europeans
while keeping faith… toleration
Enlightenment & Society
• John Locke
– Tabula Rasa… experience alone makes us!
• Cesar Beccaria
– Vs. torture & capital punishment as cruel
– Utilitarian… greatest good for greatest #
• Physiocrats
– Gov’t exists to protect property / farming #1
• Adam Smith
– Capitalism via “Invisible Hand” of free market
– Laissez-faire
Enlightenment & Politics
• Thomas Hobbes: Leviathan
– Man is evil, needs control by strong ruler
– Social Contract: give up your rights in
exchange for protection
• J Locke: Two Treatises on Government
– Man is rational & good, can choose well
– Social Contract: Government exists by the
consent of the governed, bad government
should be replaced
Enlightenment & Politics
E
• Montesquieu: Spirit of the Laws
L
J
– Constitutional Monarchy
– Separation of powers = 3 Branches of Gov’t
• Legislative (Create Law)
• Executive (Enforce Law)
• Judicial (Interpret Law)
• JJ Rousseau: The Social Contract
– Direct Democracy via “General Will” of people
– Loyalty to community
– Man is good, corrupted by society
Enlightenment & Women
• Supported Philosophes
– Madames Geoffrin, Pompadour etc.
• Mary Wollstonecraft: Vindication of Rts
– Education is key / Gender equality /
Reform
• Montesquieu
– Gender equality / Traditional / Limited change
• JJ Rousseau: Emile
– Educated but… “Separate spheres”
– Traditional roles / Subordinate to men
Enlightened Absolutism
• Frederick the Great (Prussia)
– Religious toleration / Merit based
ennobling
– Legal codes / Education / Reform
• Catherine the Great (Russia)
– Limited reform / Charter of Nobility
(rights)
• Joseph II (Austria)
– Religious toleration / Legal reform
– Abolished serfdom
Enlightenment & the Arts
• Rococo
– Light-hearted, frivolous,
pastel, light, playful
– Hôtel… gardens…
suggestive statuary
• Neo-classical
– Greek-Roman themes,
topics, style
Poland: Victim of Competition
• Poland lacked…
– Strong monarchy
– Natural defenses
– Loyal nobility
– Bureaucracy
• Partitioned by Prussia,
Russia & Austria
• Ceased to exist 1795 until
1919