Transcript THE ENLIGHTENMENT

The Age of
Enlightenment
So What Was It?
The Enlightenment
…also known as the Age of Reason,
was a period during the 17th and 18th
centuries when European
philosophers stressed the use of
reason as the best method for
learning the Truth, casting off the
superstition and fear of the medieval
world.
Main Ideas
Main Ideas
• Primarily a middle-class movement.
• Was an effort to discover the natural
laws that govern the universe.
• Led to scientific, political, and social
advances.
• Stressed the use of reason to question
previously accepted doctrines (ideas).
• Attacked superstition, ignorance, and
easy acceptance of authority.
• Concept of Deism flourished.
Deism
• God created the universe and its laws.
– Examples: Universal Gravitation, Planetary
Motion, Newton’s 3 Laws of Motion, etc.
• After creation, God left the universe to
function on its own.
• God chooses not to be involved in
ANYTHING!
• This was considered at the time to be the
most plausible scientific reasoning for the
creation of the universe.
Natural Rights
Natural Rights
• Also called moral rights or inalienable
rights.
• Not contingent upon the laws, customs, or
beliefs of a particular society (they are
universal and apply to EVERYONE).
• Different from legal rights, which are
codified into legal statutes by some form of
legislature by a particular polity (they are
culturally and politically relative).
- Example: “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
Education
Education
• Scholars wrote articles and essays,
which were put together and called
encyclopedias.
• Encyclopedias helped spread the new
“Enlightenment” ideas across Europe.
• Novels became abundant, marking
the first time that all people could be
entertained without leaving home.
Philosophers of
The Enlightenment
Thomas Hobbes
Thomas Hobbes
English philosopher
• Man is born “naturally wicked” and evil.
• Wrote Leviathan – idea of social contract.
• Government is contract between citizens
and ruler. In this contract, citizens give up
rights for guarantee of peace and security.
• Life without government would be “poor,
nasty, brutish, and short” and lead to a
“war of all against all.”
• Society should give-up natural rights for
the sake of protection. Any abuses of
power by this authority are to be accepted
as the price of peace.
• The best government is one in which the
ruler has absolute power. Hobbes rejects
separation of power.
• People don’t have the right to rebel while
they agree to act as a civil society.
John Locke
John Locke
English philosopher
• Like Hobbes, believed government is a
social contract between it and its people.
• Unlike Hobbes, the role of government is:
– to protect the rights of life, liberty, and
property.
– to create order in society.
• Advocated separation of power.
• Revolution is not only a right, but an
obligation in some circumstances.
• Rulers should stay in power only as long
as they have the approval of the people
they govern.
• Unused property is a waste and an
offense against nature (no excess).
• He was the inspiration for the American
Declaration of Independence.
François-Marie Arouet –
Voltaire
Voltaire
French philosopher
• Prolific writer – 20,000 letters and 2,000
books/pamphlets.
• Freedom of thought was most important:
– "I do not agree with a word you say, but I will
defend to the death your right to say it.“
• Criticized organized religion:
– “If God did not exist, it would be necessary to
invent Him.”
• Distrusted democracy.
• Believed only an enlightened monarch,
advised by philosophers like him, could bring
about change.
• It was the king's best interest to improve the
power and wealth of his subjects and kingdom.
• He fought for civil rights - the right to a fair trial
and freedom of religion.
• Thought women were not equal to men, but
should be treated well.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Rousseau
Swiss philosopher
• Wrote The Social Contract
– Opening: “Man is born free, and everywhere
he is in chains. One man thinks himself the
master of others, but remains more of a slave
than they.”
• In the degenerate phase of society, man is
prone to be in frequent competition while
at the same time becoming increasingly
dependent on others. This double
pressure threatens both his survival and
his freedom.
• By joining together in civil society,
abandoning their claims of natural right,
individuals can both preserve themselves
and remain free.
• Material progress undermines the possibility
of true friendship by replacing it with
jealousy, fear and suspicion.
• Inspired the French Revolution.
• Thought women should be educated to be
good mothers.
Art & Entertainment
During the
Enlightenment
Musical Periods
Baroque Classical Romantic
1600 – 1760
Bach
1730 – 1820
Mozart
1815 – 1910
Beethoven
Baroque music
• Generally complex, almost to the
point of being mathematical.
• Often uniformly depicts a single
emotion (grief, sorrow, joy, etc.)
Johann Sebastian Bach
(1685 – 1750)
Johann Sebastian Bach
• Church organist.
• Wrote secular works for choir,
orchestra, and solo instruments.
• Most important figure in Baroque
music.
Classical Music
• Less complicated than Baroque music.
• Focused on melody and balance.
• Invention of new instruments like the
piano allowed Classical music to have
a greater range of dynamics (volume quiet/loud).
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
(1756-1791)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
•As a child prodigy, he began
composing music at age 5.
•Virtuoso violinist and pianist.
•Wrote some of the world’s
most famous operas.
Ludwig van Beethoven
(1770-1827)
Ludwig van Beethoven
• Most famous and influential composer
of all time.
• Virtuoso pianist.
• Beethoven eventually became deaf,
yet he continued to compose,
conduct, and perform masterpieces.
Ludwig van Beethoven (cont.)
Famous Works
• Moonlight sonata
• Für Elise
• 5th Symphony
• 9th Symphony (Ode to Joy)
Baroque
Art
Baroque Art
• Renaissance artists tried to show
perfect people and classical
themes.
• Baroque artists painted real life
and real people, with all of their
warts, wrinkles, and bumps.
• Complex paintings - realistic detail,
intense emotions, and rich colors.
Enlightenment: Five Paragraph
Research Essay
• How does the music of the enlightenment reflect the
political, social and scientific theories of the time?
• Compare and Contrast: Hobbes to Locke
• What influences did the political philosophies have on
politics throughout the world?
• Compare and Contrast: Renaissance and Enlightenment
art.
• Why was the enlightenment era considered the Age of
Reason?
• Explain the impact the enlightenment age had on the
study of science (past and present).