THE ENLIGHTENMENT

1
THE ENLIGHTENMENT

• THE 18TH CENTURY
• THE AGE OF REASON

2
THE ENLIGHTENMENT

• IN 18TH CENTURY EUROPE
• Change and Reform became possible
• Confidence combined with faith in rational
  criticism
• Leaders of the Enlightenment convinced
• Laws of Nature could be understood
• Rationality of universe standard
• Criticism to be the tool for improvement

3
THE ENLIGHTENMENT

• NEWTONIAN WORLD VIEW
• Universe was balanced and laws governed
• Man could discover the Laws of Nature
• God created the universe but did not interfere
• Empirical evidence necessary to support/prove
  rational speculation

4
THE ENLIGHTENMENT

• JOHN LOCKE (1632 1704)
• An Essay on Human Understanding
• Each person enters the world as a Tabla Raza
• Human personality consequence of experiences
• Therefore Human Nature is changeable
• Change the environment change the person
• Improvement is possible
• No such thing as original sin

5
THE ENLIGHTENMENT

• BRITISH TOLERATION STABILITY
• England after the Glorious Revolution
• Religious Toleration
• Relative Freedom of the Press
• Limited Monarchy
• Parliament with real power/authority
• Court system to protect citizens
• Small army

6
THE ENLIGHTENMENT

• France and Reform
• France a defeated state
• Economy was in ruins
• Criticism led to arbitrary arrest
• No Freedom of Worship
• Political and religious censors operated freely
• People were miserable
• Cheered at news of the death of Louis XIV
• THEREFORE FRANCE BECOMES FOCUS FOR REFORM

7
THE ENLIGHTENMENT

• PHILOSOPHES
• WHO SOCIAL REFORMERS
• IDEAS
• Philosophy criticism application of reason to
  problems
• Reason scientific method applied to society
• Pursuit of a secular view of life
• Religion opposite of reason
• Focus on this world, not the afterlife

8
THE ENLIGHTENMENT

• PHILOSOPHES
• MONTESQUIEU (1689 1755) (Noble)
• 1721 The Persian Letters
• 1748 - The Spirit of the Laws
• Comparative study of governments
• 3 types of government
• Checks and Balances

9
THE ENLIGHTENMENT

• PHILOSOPHES
• VOLTAIRE (1694 1778) (Middle class)
• 1733 Philosophic Letters on the English
• 1763 Treatise on Toleration
• 1759 Candide
• Champion of Deism

10
THE ENLIGHTENMENT

• PHILOSOPHES
• DIDEROT (1713 1784) (Working Class)
• Most versatile of the philosophes
• The Encyclopedia 11 volumes

11
THE ENLIGHTENMENT

• PHILOSOPHES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
• David Hume (1711 1776) Sociology
• Treatise on Human Life
• Montesquieu Political Science
• Adam Smith (1723 1790) Economics
• The Physiocrats
• The Causes of the Wealth of Nations
• Labor Theory of Value

12
THE ENLIGHTENMENT

• PHILOSOPHES
• Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712 1778)
• Discourse on the Origins of Inequality
• The Social Contract
• Emile

13
THE ENLIGHTENMENT

• PHILOSOPHES
• Social Environment The Salons
• Spread of Enlightenment Ideas
• Empowerment of Women