III. The Enlightenment

Rococo

A popular style in Europe in the eighteenth century, known for its soft pastels, ornate interiors, sentimental portraits, and starry-eyed lovers protected by hovering cupids. Was popular throughout Europe in the period from 1720 to 1780. It has been argued that feminine influence in the drawing room went hand in hand with the emergence of polite society and the general attempt to civilize a rough military nobility. Similarly, some philosophes championed greater rights and expanded education for women, claiming that the position and treatment of women were the best indicators of a society's level of civilization and decency.

David Hume

A central figure in Edinburgh, whose emphasis on civic morality and religious skepticism had a powerful impact at home and abroad. Building on Locke's teachings on learning, (in the form of controlled experiments or Hume argued that the human mind is really nothing but a bundle of impressions. These impressions originate only in sensory experiences and our habits of joining these experiences together. Since our ultimately reflect only our sensory experiences, our reason cannot tell us anything about questions that cannot be verified by sensory experience mathematics), such as the origin of the universe or the existence of God. Paradoxically, Hume's rationalistic inquiry ended up undermining the Enlightenment's faith in the power of reason.

Philosphe

A group of french intellectuals who proclaimed that they were bringing the light of knowledge to their fellow humans during the age of Enlightenment. By the mid 1700's, France became a hub for intellectual thought, there were at least three main reasons for this, First, French was the international language of the educated classes, and France was the wealthiest and most populous country in Europe. Second, the rising unpopularity of King Louis XV and his mistresses generated growing discontent and calls for reform among the educated elite. Third, the French philosophes made it their goal to reach a larger audience of elites, many of whom were joined together in a concept inherited from the Renaissance known as the Republic of Letters — an imaginary transnational realm of the well educated. The ultimate strength of the philosophes lay in their dedication and organization. The philosophes felt keenly that they were engaged in a common undertaking that transcended individuals.

Madame du Chatelet

A noblewoman with a passion for science. Inviting Voltaire to live in her country house at Cirey in Lorraine and becoming his long-time companion (under the eyes of her tolerant husband), Madame du Châtelet studied physics and mathematics and published scientific articles and translations, including the first — and only — translation of Newton's Principia into French. Excluded from the Royal Academy of Sciences because she was a woman, Madame du Châtelet had no doubt that women's limited role in science was due to their unequal education.

John Locke

A physician and member of the Royal Society, brilliantly set forth a new theory about how human beings learn and form their ideas. Whereas Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibniz based their philosophies on deductive logic, Locke insisted that all ideas are derived from experience. The human mind at birth is like a blank tablet, or tabula rasa, on which the environment writes the individual's understanding and beliefs. Human development is therefore determined by education and social institutions. Locke's essay contributed to the theory of sensationalism, the idea that all human ideas and thoughts are produced as a result of sensory impressions. With his emphasis on the role of perception in the acquisition of knowledge, Locke provided a systematic justification of Bacon's emphasis on the importance of observation and experimentation.

Rationalism

A secular, critical way of thinking in which nothing was to be accepted on faith, and everything was to be submitted to reason. Nothing was ever to be accepted by faith according to Enlightenment thinkers. These tenets led to the third key idea, that of progress.

L. Rousseau questioned the exclusive reliance on reason and emphasized the role of emotions in the moral improvement of self and society

According to Rousseau, the general will is sacred and absolute, reflecting the common interests of all the people, who have displaced the monarch as the holder of sovereign power.

C) Describe how despite the principles of equality espoused by the Enlightenment and the French revolution, intellectuals such as Rousseau offered new for the exclusion of women from political life, which did not go unchallenged

According to Rousseau, women and men were radically different beings. Destined by nature to assume a passive role in sexual relations, women should also be subordinate in social life. Women's love for displaying themselves in public, attending social gatherings, and pulling the strings of power was unnatural and had a corrupting effect on both politics and society. Rousseau thus rejected the sophisticated way of life of Parisian elite women. His criticism led to calls for privileged women to renounce their frivolous ways and stay at home to care for their children. Many philosphes supported women but they just did not see them as equal beings to men.

Adam Smith

Another major figure of the Scottish Enlightenment, His Theory of Moral Sentiments argued that the thriving commercial life of the eighteenth century produced civic virtue through the values of competition, fair play, and individual autonomy. Smith attacked the laws and regulations that, he argued, prevented commerce from reaching its full capacity.

I. Describe how intellectuals, including Voltaire and Diderot, developed new philosophies of deism, skepticism, and atheism

Diderot set out to teach people how to think critically and objectively about all matters. Voltaire's writings challenged the Catholic Church and Christian theology at almost every point. Voltaire clearly believed in God, but, like many eighteenth-century Enlightenment thinkers, he was a deist, envisioning God as akin to a clock maker who set the universe in motion and then ceased to intervene in human affairs. Above all, Voltaire and most of the philosophes hated all forms of religious intolerance, which they believed led to fanaticism.

Denis Diderot

Edited the seventh volume Encyclopedia. Set out to find coauthors and discover human knowledge. Even more fundamentally, set out to teach people how to think critically and objectively about all matters. As Diderot said, he wanted the Encyclopedia to "change the general way of thinking."

K. While Enlightenment values dominated the world of European ideas, they were challenged by the revival of public sentiment and feeling

Enlightenment thinkers believed, it was at least possible for human beings to create better societies and better people. The philosophes felt keenly that they were engaged in a common undertaking that transcended individuals.

Public Sphere

In addition to these institutions, book clubs, debating societies, Masonic lodges (groups of Freemasons, a secret society that accepted craftsmen and shopkeepers as well as middle-class men and nobles), and newspapers all played roles in the creation of a new Public Sphere, an idealized intellectual space that emerged in Europe during the Enlightenment, where the public came together to discuss important issues relating to society, economics, and politics celebrated open debate informed by critical reason. The public sphere was an idealized space where members of society came together as individuals to discuss issues relevant to the society, economics, and politics of the day.

G. Describe how political theories, such as John Locke's, conceived society as composed of individuals driven by self interest and argued that the state originated in the consent of the governed rather than in divine right or tradition

Life, Liberty, and Property. Which stems from the idea that Divine right yields corrupted leaders/ monarchs. When leaders rule in the sense of their people a nation becomes stronger. Under a just monarch, in John Locke's eyes. There must be a strong monarch but he must rule in the interests of the governed.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Made his way into the Parisian Enlightenment through his brilliant intellect. He contributed articles on music to the Encyclopedia, Rousseau came to believe that the philosophes were plotting against him. In the mid-1750's he broke with them, living thereafter as a lonely outsider with his uneducated common-law wife and going in his own highly original direction. Rousseau was passionately committed to individual freedom, however, he attacked rationalism and civilization as destroying, rather than liberating, the individual. The basic goodness of the individual and the unspoiled child had to be protected from the cruel refinements of civilization. Rousseau's ideals greatly influenced the early romantic movement, which rebelled against the culture of the Enlightenment in the late eighteenth century. Rousseau also called for a rigid division of gender roles. According to Rousseau, women and men were radically different beings. Destined by nature to assume a passive role in sexual relations, women should also be subordinate in social life. Women's love for displaying themselves in public, attending social gatherings, and pulling the strings of power was unnatural and had a corrupting effect on both politics and society. Rousseau thus rejected the sophisticated way of life of Parisian elite women. His criticism led to calls for privileged women to renounce their frivolous ways and stay at home to care for their children. Rousseau's contribution to political theory, was based on the general will and popular sovereignty. According to Rousseau, the general will is sacred and absolute, reflecting the common interests of all the people, who have displaced the monarch as the holder of sovereign power. The general will is not necessarily the will of the majority, however. At times the general will may be the authentic, long-term needs of the people as correctly interpreted by a farsighted minority. Little noticed in its day, Rousseau's concept of the general will had a great impact on the political aspirations of the American and French Revolutions. Rousseau was both one of the most influential voices of the Enlightenment and, in his rejection of rationalism and social discourse, a harbinger of reaction against Enlightenment ideas.

Montesquieu

One of the greatest philosophes, One of the greatest philosophes, the first major work of the French Enlightenment. Allowed Montesquieu a vantage point for criticizing existing practices and beliefs. Having gained fame by using wit as a weapon against cruelty and superstition, Montesquieu turned to the study of history and politics. His interest was partly personal, for, like many members of the French robe nobility, he was disturbed by the growth in absolutism under Louis XIV. But Montesquieu was also inspired by the example of the physical sciences, and he set out to apply the critical method to the problem of government, The result was a complex, comparative study of republics, monarchies, and despotisms. Montesquieu focused on the conditions that would promote liberty and prevent tyranny. He argued for a separation of powers, with political power divided and shared by a variety of classes and legal estates. Admiring greatly the English balance of power, Montesquieu believed that in France the thirteen high courts — the parliaments — were front line defenders of liberty against royal despotism. Apprehensive about the uneducated poor, Montesquieu was clearly no democrat, but his theory of separation of powers had a great impact on the constitutions of the young United States in 1789 and of France in 1791.

J. Describe how artistic movements and literature also reflected the outlook and values of commercial and bourgeois society as well as new Enlightenment ideals of political power and citizenship

Racoco was a popular style in Europe in the eighteenth century, known for its soft pastels, ornate interiors, sentimental portraits, and starry-eyed lovers protected by hovering cupids. Was popular throughout Europe in the period from 1720 to 1780. It has been argued that feminine influence in the drawing room went hand in hand with the emergence of polite society and the general attempt to civilize a rough military nobility.

Salons

Regular social gathering held by talented and rich Parisians in their homes, where philosophes and their followers met to discuss literature, science, and philosophy. Conversation, discussion, and debate also played a critical role in the Enlightenment. Evolving from the gatherings presided over by the précieuses in the late seventeenth century, the salon was a regular meeting held in the elegant private drawing rooms (or salons) of talented, wealthy men and women. There they encouraged the exchange of witty observations on literature, science, and philosophy among great aristocrats, wealthy middle-class financiers, high-ranking officials, and noteworthy foreigners. Many of the most celebrated salons were hosted by women, known as salonnières. Invitations to salons were highly coveted; introductions to the rich and powerful could make the career of an ambitious writer, and, in turn, the social elite found amusement and cultural prestige in their ties to up-and-coming artists and men of letters. Salons were sites in which the philosophes, the French nobility, and the prosperous middle classes intermingled and influenced one another while maintaining due deference to social rank.

Neoclassicism

Revival of a classical style (in art or literature or architecture or music) but from a new perspective or with a new motivation, The revival of a classical style or treatment in art, literature, architecture, or music.

B) Describe how Locke and Rousseau developed new political models based on the concept of natural rights

Rousseau was passionately committed to individual freedom, however, he attacked rationalism and civilization as destroying, rather than liberating, the individual. The basic goodness of the individual and the unspoiled child had to be protected from the cruel refinements of civilization. Rousseau's ideals greatly influenced the early romantic movement, which rebelled against the culture of the Enlightenment in the late eighteenth century. According to Rousseau, women and men were radically different beings. Destined by nature to assume a passive role in sexual relations, women should also be subordinate in social life. The general will is sacred and absolute, reflecting the common interests of all the people, who have displaced the monarch as the holder of sovereign power. The general will is not necessarily the will of the majority, however. At times the general will may be the authentic, long-term needs of the people as correctly interpreted by a farsighted minority.

D) Describe how a variety of institutions, such as salons, explored and disseminated Enlightenment culture

Salons were places in which highly ranked individuals could gather to discuss, debate, and explore different ideals. The only problem was not everyone was allowed to partake in this, b/c not everyone was a highly ranked individual. Therefore, there was an emergence of things such as coffee houses in which a variety of individuals were welcome in the act of debating, discussing, and exploring ideals.

F. Describe how natural sciences, literature, and popular culture increasingly exposed Europeans to representations of people outside of Europe

The Enlightenment was a movement of international dimensions, with thinkers traversing borders in a constant exchange of visits, letters, and printed materials. Within this broad international conversation, scholars have identified regional and national particularities. Outside of France, many strains of Enlightenment — Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish — sought to reconcile reason with faith, rather than emphasizing the errors of religious fanaticism and intolerance. Some scholars point to a distinctive "Catholic Enlightenment" that aimed to renew and reform the church from within, looking to divine grace rather than human will as the source of progress.

Coffeehouse

The coffeehouses that first appeared in the late seventeenth century became meccas of philosophical discussion, for those who were not welcome into salons. Italian merchants introduced coffee to Europe around 1600, and the first European coffee shop opened in Venice in 1645, soon followed by shops in Oxford, England, in 1650, London in 1652, and Paris in 1672. Coffeehouses helped spread the ideas and values of the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment. They provided a new public space where urban Europeans could learn about and debate the issues of the day. Within a few years, each political party, philosophical sect, scientific society, and literary circle had its own coffeehouse, which served as a central gathering point for its members and an informal recruiting site for new ones. Coffeehouses self-consciously distinguished themselves from the rowdy atmosphere of the tavern; whereas alcohol dulled the senses, coffee sharpened the mind for discussion.

H. Describe how during the Enlightenment, the rational analysis of religious practices led to natural religion and the demand for religious toleration

The first and foremost idea was that the methods of natural science could and should be used to examine and understand all aspects of life, This was what intellectuals meant by reason, a favorite word of Enlightenment thinkers. Nothing was to be accepted on faith; A second important Enlightenment concept was that the scientific method was capable of discovering the laws of human society as well as those of nature. Armed with the proper method of discovering the laws of human existence, Enlightenment thinkers believed, it was at least possible for human beings to create better societies and better people.

The Encyclopedie

The greatest and most representative intellectual achievement of the Philosphes was, quite fittingly, a group effort-- the seventeen-volume Encyclopedia: The Rational Dictionary of the Sciences, the Arts, and the Crafts. The Encyclopedia survived initial resistance from the French government and the Catholic Church. Published between 1751 and 1772, it contained seventy-two thousand articles by leading scientists, writers, skilled workers, and progressive priests, and it treated every aspect of life and knowledge. Not every article was daring or original, but the overall effect was little short of revolutionary. Science and the industrial arts were exalted, religion and immortality questioned. Intolerance, legal injustice, and out-of-date social institutions were openly criticized. The encyclopedists were convinced that greater knowledge would result in greater human happiness, for knowledge was useful and made possible economic, social, and political progress. Summing up the new worldview of the Enlightenment, the Encyclopedia was widely read, especially in less-expensive reprint editions, and it was extremely influential.

Enlightenment

The influential intellectual and cultural movement of the late 17th and 18th centuries that introduced a new worldview based on the use of reason, the scientific method, and progress. This worldview, which has played a large role in shaping the modern mind, grew out of a rich mix of diverse and often conflicting ideas that were debated in international networks. Three central concepts stand at the core of Enlightenment thinking: The first and foremost idea was that the methods of natural science could and should be used to examine and understand all aspects of life, This was what intellectuals meant by reason, a favorite word of Enlightenment thinkers. Nothing was to be accepted on faith; A second important Enlightenment concept was that the scientific method was capable of discovering the laws of human society as well as those of nature. Armed with the proper method of discovering the laws of human existence, Enlightenment thinkers believed, it was at least possible for human beings to create better societies and better people.

Voltaire

The most famous and perhaps most representative philosophe was François Marie Arouet, who was known by the pen name Voltaire. Wrote more than seventy witty volumes, hobnobbed with royalty, and died a millionaire through shrewd speculations. Shared Montesquieu's enthusiasm for English liberties and institutions. While living at Cirey, Voltaire wrote works praising England and popularizing English science. Lauded Newton as history's greatest man, for he had used his genius for the benefit of humanity. In the true style of the Enlightenment, Voltaire mixed the glorification of science and reason with an appeal for better individuals and institutions. Voltaire was a reformer, not a revolutionary, in politics. He pessimistically concluded that the best one could hope for in the way of government was a good monarch. He lavishly praised Louis XIV and conducted an enthusiastic correspondence with King Frederick the Great of Prussia, whom he admired as an enlightened monarch. Nor did Voltaire believe in social and economic equality, insisting that the idea of making servants equal to their masters was "absurd and impossible." Voltaire's philosophical and religious positions were much more radical than his social and political beliefs. His writings challenged the Catholic Church and Christian theology at almost every point. Voltaire clearly believed in God, but, like many eighteenth-century Enlightenment thinkers, he was a deist, envisioning God as akin to a clock maker who set the universe in motion and then ceased to intervene in human affairs. Above all, Voltaire and most of the philosophes hated all forms of religious intolerance, which they believed led to fanaticism.

Reading Revolution

The transition in Europe from a society where literacy consisted of patriarchal and communal reading of religious texts to a society where literacy was commonplace and reading material was broad and diverse. Reading more books on many more subjects, the educated public approached reading in a new way. The old style of reading in Europe had been centered on a core of sacred texts that taught earthly duty and obedience to God. Reading had been patriarchal and communal, with the father slowly reading the text aloud to his assembled family. Now reading involved a broader field of books that constantly changed. Reading became individual and silent, and texts could be questioned. Subtle but profound, the reading revolution ushered in new ways of relating to the written word.

E. Describe censorship, increasingly numerous and varied printed materials served as a growing literate public and led to the development of public opinion

The transition in Europe from a society where literacy consisted of patriarchal and communal reading of religious texts to a society where literacy was commonplace and reading material was broad and diverse. The Reading Revolution brought forth the new idea that reading could be a silent act in which one can read for fun, not for religious, or political purposes.

A) Describe how intellectuals such as Voltaire and Diderot began to apply the principles of the Scientific Revolution to society and human institutions

Voltaire mixed the glorification of science and reason with an appeal for better individuals and institutions. Voltaire's philosophical and religious positions were much more radical than his social and political beliefs. His writings challenged the Catholic Church and Christian theology at almost every point. Voltaire clearly believed in God, but, like many eighteenth-century Enlightenment thinkers, he was a deist, envisioning God as akin to a clock maker who set the universe in motion and then ceased to intervene in human affairs. Hume argued that the human mind is really nothing but a bundle of impressions. These impressions originate only in sensory experiences and our habits of joining these experiences together. Since our ultimately reflect only our sensory experiences, our reason cannot tell us anything about questions that cannot be verified by sensory experience mathematics).