module 4 part 1
From Voltaire's Candide:
"At length, while the two kings were causing Te Deum to be sung each in his own camp, Candide resolved to go and reason elsewhere on effects and causes. He passed over heaps of dead and dying, and first reached a neighbouring village; it was in cinders, it was an Abare village which the Bulgarians had burnt according to the laws of war. Here, old men covered with wounds, beheld their wives, hugging their children to their bloody breasts, massacred before their faces; there, their daughters, disembowelled and breathing their last after having satisfied the natural wants of Bulgarian heroes; while others, half burnt in the flames, begged to be despatched. The earth was strewed with brains, arms, and legs."
From Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels:
"It is computed that eleven thousand persons have at several times suffered death, rather than submit to break their eggs at the smaller end. Many hundred large volumes have been published upon this controversy: but the books of the Big-endians have been long forbidden, and the whole party [of Big-endians] rendered incapable by law of holding employments."
Human nature was the basis for
"natural" law, and in contrast to man-made law, carried the authority of God. When the Declaration of Independence stated that the "Laws of Nature and of Nature's God" allow the colonies to separate themselves from Britain, it appealed to this Enlightenment conception of an authority that can be verified by observation and understanding.
Rousseau developed what came to be known as a
"noble savage" theory—that a person is at his or her best in wholly natural environments uncorrupted by society. This theory led to debate over whether private property and social stratification were morally degenerate or absolutely necessary for a complex society.
Deism:
A shift in religious thinking also took place with the growth of deism, a belief system that credits God as the original architect of the universe's natural laws but who does not currently oversee the events of the world.
The Age of Enlightenment, or the "Age of Reason," was a cultural movement throughout Europe and America that celebrated and invested in human intelligence. It occurred roughly from the
1670s until the late 1700s. Its hallmark invention was the French Encyclopédie, written by experts in many different fields.
Classicism
A coinciding movement in decorative arts, visual arts, theater, music, and architecture that occurred along with the Age of Enlightenment has been given the name Neoclassicism, because it was built on principles of classicism, aesthetic principles and themes tracing their roots back to the ancient Greeks and Romans. While the influence was throughout all artistic disciples, it can perhaps best be seen in the visual arts, which not only adopted classical themes and content but also techniques.
Rationalism
A prominent philosophical movement during the Enlightenment was that of rationalism. Rationalists believed that human reason was the key to knowledge and, therefore, social improvement and progress. René Descartes (1596-1650), sometimes called the father of modern philosophy, is considered to have been the first modern rationalist. He devised a methodology of logical thinking built upon intellectual deductive reasoning.
Empiricism
Although a Renaissance figure, Francis Bacon (1561-1626) was an important influence in the empiricism of the Age of Enlightenment because of his experimental philosophy. Empiricism may be defined as basing ideas and theories on direct experience through the senses, including experimentation. Bacon is seen as the father of the scientific method based upon observation, experimentation, and induction. The great Enlightenment scientist following the path set by Bacon was, of course, Sir Isaac Newton, who perfected the inductive scientific method and paved the way for modern science.
Mary Wollstonecraf
An early feminist, Mary Wollstonecraft (1759 - 1797) argued for the advancement of women in an age when women were believed to be naturally inferior to men.
n America, the deist Thomas Jefferson created his own
Bible by cutting and pasting together the parts he thought were good. As religious authority waned, toleration of someone else's political or religious beliefs became a new value.
Voltaire
Candide; Zaire (play); Letters on the English
Which of the following beliefs would a deist likely hold? a. Mary was indeed a virgin, and the birth of Christ was a miracle. b. Death occurs when God has decided that it is time to take us. c. Death has a scientific explanation, the laws of which God created. d. God does not exist.
Death has a scientific explanation, the laws of which God created. Correct. The answer is c. Deists did believe in God as a creator of the universe and that God created the laws which govern the universe. However, they did not believe that God interfered in the natural world or daily lives of people, nor did they believe in miraculous events.
Deism
Deism is a religious philosophy that grew out of the rationalism and empiricism of the Age of Enlightenment. It had famous proponents throughout Europe and the United States, including Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. In brief, deism describes God as an architect or cosmic clockmaker who created the world according to scientific laws and principles and does not directly interfere in the functioning of the natural world. Deists suggested that any understanding of God could come about solely by studying natural principles, and naturally, they were skeptical of miracles and other supernatural manifestations.
Denis Diderot
Denis Diderot (1713-1784) was one of the French philosophes and creators of the greatest encyclopedia in the 18th century. He wrote philosophical dialogues that explored the theory and consequence of materialism, the idea that the universe is entirely composed of matter and without a God.
Key Concepts: Literature of the Enlightenment
Enlightenment literature was focused on rational prose and social reform . The Enlightenment cultivated the novel, a longer form of prose that allowed for more complex plot and character development. This genre was a perfect vehicle for the period theme of sympathy, since authors had the literal space to develop characters richly and to devise intricate plots. Enlightenment literature often blended real life with philosophical or ethical reflection, making biographies, essays, and travel narratives very popular. The printing press popularized literature and made it available to people of all social classes. Popular authors and works of the Enlightenment included: Volaire, whose novel Candide satirizes the idea that this world is the best possible and instead encourages people to examine critically their traditions. and Jonathan Swift's satire Gulliver's Travels
Order:
Enlightenment thinkers and leaders sought to design political and social order that reflected natural laws and God's will.
The 17th and 18th centuries saw a dramatic shift toward rational thought and advancements in science, philosophy, society, and politics. The ideas of this period, known as the
Enlightenment*, primarily manifested in the writings of many intellectual minds who published their new ideas for the world to see. The legacy of these thinkers has shaped and continues to shape the modern Western world.
Nature was treated with suspicion during the Enlightenment. True or False?
False Correct. This is a false statement. The suspicion of authority and reliance on human reason made nature a newly important realm. Scientists came to believe that they could best study God's work through the observation and analysis of nature.
Deists embraced religious authority from priests and kings. True or False?
False Correct. This statement is false. Deists opposed both religious and political authority, both priests and kings, because they believed that each individual needed to be equally free to work out his or her own destiny.
Enlightenment thinkers valued order and therefore believed that a state should strictly control its citizens. True or false?
False Correct. This statement is false. Enligtenment thinkers believed that natural world, despite being created by God, was ordered and therefore could be studied and understood by human beings.
Empiricism:
First developed in the Renaissance by scientists such as Francis Bacon, empiricism may be defined as basing ideas and theories on the direct experience of the senses, including experimentation, as opposed to knowledge gained from books.
Although Enlightenment philosophers were concerned with more abstract, social concepts—such as justice, morality, law, government, and basic human rights—scientific discoveries of the natural, physical world fueled their theories. Renaissance innovations such as
Francis Bacon's development of the scientific method, empirical process of inductive reasoning, Isaac Newton's laws of motion, and Galileo's revolutionary theories of the structure of the solar system all contributed to the development of Enlightenment philosophy and birthed new schools of thought.
Jonathan Swift
Gulliver's Travels; "A Modest Proposal"
Classicism:
In the arts, a resurgence of classical ideals like harmony, realism, and reason inspired the Neoclassical movemen
Key Enlightenment Philosophers
Jean-Jacques Rousseau believed that the native peoples encountered through trade and colonization were, in some ways, morally superior, arguing that a person is at his or her best in wholly natural environments and is corrupted by the environments of society. Denis Diderot helped create the greatest encyclopedia in the 18th century. He wrote philosophical dialogues that explored the theory and consequence of materialism: the idea that the universe is entirely composed of matter and without a God. The Encyclopédie represented a fundamental principle of the Enlightenment: to accumulate, codify, and preserve human knowledge by providing rational information on important topics to the general public. John Locke was one of the most influential philosophers and political theorists in British history. Many current ideas about selfhood, identity, and the way the mind works come from Locke. Locke also wrote highly influential books on government, providing a basis for the American political experiment. Mary Wollstonecraft was an English writer, philosopher, and feminist who argued for the advancement of women, affirming that women were capable of rationality and that they should be educated
Who said, "The age we live in is a busy age, in which knowledge is rapidly advancing towards perfection"? a. Immanuel Kant b. Jeremy Bentham c. Benjamin Franklin
Jeremy Bentham Correct. The answer is b. It was English philosopher Jeremy Bentham who said, "The age we live in is a busy age, in which knowledge is rapidly advancing towards perfection."
Key Concepts: Religion of the Enlightenment During the Enlightenment, there was a dramatic shift away from traditional Judeo-Christian religious thought.
Many intellectual philosophes, inspired by scientific discoveries in physics and biology, preferred deism, a belief system that credits God as the world's creator, who established the natural law and order but who otherwise does not interfere with humanity. The philosophes embraced deism largely because it was a concept that appealed to the rational mind. Deism rejected the details of Christianity and believed in a deity who ordained the order in the universe and let that order operate. Deists did not practice worship or ritual, since they did not believe in divine intervention, but instead strove to understand the order that God put into place.
Compare the themes of the Enlightenment to those we explored in the previous module. How are the themes seen here different from those of the Baroque Period? Choose one new theme and provide evidence to support its significance.
One new theme that emerges in the Enlightenment is deism. This religious philosophy grew out of rationalism and empiricism and aimed to explain the existence of God in a way that would support rational thought and science. A distinct characteristic of deism is the belief that God does not directly interfere in the functioning of the natural world. These changing religious views reflect the growing significance of logic, order, and reason within society at this time.
Skepticism
Philosophically, Enlightenment thinkers believed in the power of the human mind to find answers pertaining to science, behavior, and nature. Key philosophers of the time, such as René Descartes and David Hume, used "rational skepticism" to ensure that their thinking was based on logic and not on prejudice. This critical attitude helped to define the age. In the words of David Hume: All that belongs to human understanding, in this deep ignorance and obscurity, is to be skeptical, or at least cautious, and not to admit of any hypothesis whatever, much less of any which is supported by no appearance of probability. —Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion
Key Concepts: Philosophy of the Enlightenment During the Enlightenment, reason, rational thinking, and observation were key to uncovering philosophical truths. Enlightenment philosophers were concerned with abstract concepts pertaining to the social realm, such as justice, morality, law, government, and basic human rights. They developed their theories in conjunction with scientific theories and modes of thinking developed prior to and during this period. Three prominent philosophical movements during the Enlightenment were rationalism, empiricism, and skepticism.
Rationalists believed that human reason is the key to knowledge. Empiricists believed that all knowledge is derived through our senses and based on ideas and theories on testing, observation, and experience. Skepticism departed from both rationalism and empiricism in that it criticized our ability to perceive and understand the world around us, acknowledging the limitations of human reasoning.
The Enlightenment featured figures like
Sir Isaac Newton employing the scientific method in exploring fundamental natural laws, and inventors like Benjamin Franklin who sought to apply science to practical concerns--like keeping lightning strikes from starting house fires through a new device called a lightning rod.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Some Europeans believed that the native peoples they encountered through trade and colonization were, in some ways, morally superior to "civilized" societies. Enlightenment philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau held this view, unlike many of his contemporaries who were more interested in colonizing and controlling people of the "New World." More often, however, Europeans rationalized doing what they needed to do to control native populations.
Key Concepts: The Age of Enlightenment
The Enlightenment heralded a new willingness to question authority in all areas of life. Scientific discoveries increased rapidly, and the questioning of the monarchy led to political reform and revolution. In religion, skeptics increasingly challenged the authority of organized religion and attempted to find a basis for morality outside religion altogether. The Enlightenment also saw the rise of deism, the belief that a God had created and designed the world but did not directly intervene in its affairs. This was also called the "watchmaker God," a reference to a watchmaker's role in creating a watch but relative neglect once it was completed and events are set into action. Disciplines such as natural history, modern science, and natural law were all born out of the Enlightenment. Ideas such as the separation of church and state, religious tolerance, and free speech were also fruits of the Enlightenment. Thomas Jefferson drafted the The Declaration of Independence. He served as the third President of the United States and founded the University of Virginia. The Declaration of Independence captures in a succinct and powerful way the relationship among humanism, Enlightenment philosophy, and political governance. It established the idea of a new nation that was a product of the philosophies of the era.
Diderot's Encyclopédie
The crowning achievement of the philosophes was the Encyclopédie, a 35-volume text that took 22 years to create and utilized more than 180 writers.
How does the novel Candide reflect period themes? a. The novel celebrates war in a just cause. b. The novel narrates a series of adventures throughout the world, thereby illustrating cultural exchange. c. The novel sends an anti-war message and many people in the Enlightenment questioned the necessity of war. d. The novel indicts outdated social and political practices. e. none of the above
The novel indicts outdated social and political practices. Correct. The novel attacks a number of different social and religious actions and institutions. Voltaire's satire is asking readers to look candidly at evil.
Why was the novel an appropriate medium for conveying the theme of sympathy? a. The novel was longer, which allowed for more emotional complexity. b. Novels were typically aimed at the literate upper-class citizens, who had received ample religious and moral education. c. The novel was NOT a good medium to convey sympathy because prose was less dramatic, and therefore, storytelling was less emotionally engaging. d. The novel was NOT a good medium to convey sympathy because Enlightenment literature was not as popular as the writing that came before or after.
The novel was longer, which allowed for more emotional complexity. Correct. The answer is a. The novel's length allowed for the development of complex characters and plots, evoking sympathy from readers as they became more and more invested.
Rationalism:
The philosophy of rationalism also put an emphasis on the role of reason as the key to knowledge. t.
Order
The worldview that dominated Enlightenment thinking was the belief in a comprehensible world under the direction of an orderly Christian God using natural laws to exert divine will. This natural order was accessible to humankind through observation, study, and logical thinking. One group of Enlightenment thinkers known in France as the Encyclopédistes proposed that there was a moral architecture to knowledge from which sprang belief in the "enlightened" ordering of society.
Skepticism:
The school of "rational skepticism" was prominent during the Enlightenment to ensure that philosophers reached conclusions based on reason, not prejudice.
After considering new themes in this period, identify one theme that was discussed in a previous module. Why does this theme reappear during the Enlightenment and how is it represented?
The themes of balance, truth, and reason from the Classical Period reappeared during the Enlightenment in many ways, including in the form of a new artistic movement called neoclassicism. Countering the ornate extravagance of Baroque works, neoclassical artists embraced harmony and balance—just as classical artists had. These classical themes were prominent in the visual arts, where classical techniques were also applied.
The Age of Enlightenment is also known as the Age of Expansion. True or False?
This is a false statement. The Age of Enlightenment is also known as the Age of Reason.
What was the goal of the Encyclopédie? a. To record new scientific discoveries b. To publicize the works of aspiring artists c. To collect human knowledge in one place
To collect human knowledge in one place Correct. The answer is c. The Encyclopédie was a project started by French writers and thinkers to collect human knowledge in one place.
From Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Chapter 3:
To preserve personal beauty, woman's glory! the limbs and faculties are cramped with worse than Chinese bands, and the sedentary life which they are condemned to live, whilst boys frolic in the open air, weakens the muscles and relaxes the nerves.—As for Rousseau's remarks, which have since been echoed by several writers, that they have naturally, that is from their birth, independent of education, a fondness for dolls, dressing, and talking—they are so puerile as not to merit a serious refutation. That a girl, condemned to sit for hours together listening to the idle chat of weak nurses, or to attend at her mother's toilet, will endeavour to join the conversation, is, indeed, very natural; and that she will imitate her mother or aunts, and amuse herself by adorning her lifeless doll, as they do in dressing her, poor innocent babe! is undoubtedly a most natural consequence. For men of the greatest abilities have seldom had sufficient strength to rise above the surrounding atmosphere; and, if the page of genius has always been blurred by the prejudices of the age, some allowance should be made for a sex, who like kings, always see things through a false medium.
Enlightenment thinkers were willing to challenge authority in all arenas of life. True or False?
True Correct. Challenges to received wisdom resulted in rapid scientific advancement, and skepticism of organized religion allowed for the development of new moral systems. Political reform and revolutions followed the questioning of the monarch's previously established "divine right" to rule.
Locke anonymously published
Two Treatises of Government in which he argued against absolute sovereignty and advocated for a more representative form of government, paving the way for modern forms of democracy and greatly influencing the Constitution of the United States.
From the Declaration of Independence:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
Enlightenment literature was not solely about reason, however; it was also the
age of "sensibility," an emotional experience of the world. Enlightenment thinkers believed that human sympathy created a natural morality.
While the Enlightenment had a tremendous impact on the areas of science, philosophy, society, and politics, the coinciding Neoclassical movement in theater and visual art and the classical movement in music, incorporated some similar ideals into the creation of the arts. Neoclassicists hearkened back to
ancient classical* themes of balance and reason to render visual arts, architecture, theater, and music in realistic ways. In this way, neoclassicism was a departure from the Baroque focus on ornate, immense displays of wealth and power.
Review the following timeline to get a sense of the progression of the Neoclassical Period and the Enlightenment. You will learn more about the historical, political, and social contexts behind these works, and many others, as you move through the module.
art is green music is purple architecture is yellow history is pink literature is blue
All these elements constituted a rather sudden and massive shift from the traditional principles of Judeo-Christian thought. Though established churches continued to hold power in the Western world, religion was not the sole focus of individuals' lives, at least not in the intellectual spheres that valued reason and science over pure faith. This shift of priority was reflected in the
arts. Many prominent artists moved away from strictly Christian themes. Review Checkpoint
The argument about natural law in the Encyclopédie was especially important, because it
asserted that all people were equal and rational, a concept known as "rational humanism," which served as the basis for the many political revolutions in Western culture during the next one hundred years.
The Enlightenment heralded a new willingness to question authority in all areas of life. Scientific discoveries increased rapidly, as thinkers found wisdom in astronomy, biology, human anatomy, and chemistry. Questioning the "divine right" to rule, previously assumed to be granted to monarchs, led to political reform and revolution. In religion, skeptics increasingly challenged the
authority of organized religion and attempted to find a basis for morality outside of religion altogether.
Skepticism departed from
both rationalism and empiricism in that it criticized our ability to perceive and understand the world around us, acknowledging the limitations of human reasoning.
The philosophes embraced deism largely because it was a
concept that appealed to the rational mind. Deism rejected the details of Christianity and believed in a deity who ordained the order* in the universe and let that order operate, rather than a deity who intervened in daily life on behalf of those the deity favored.
Following along with a focus on scientific rather than faith-based ways of thinking, a religious philosophy known as
deism* was born. Deists of the Enlightenment were typically Christians who still believed in God as a higher power but only as the original creator of the world—not an entity who directly interferes with events of human history.
A theory of universal morality also informed
deism*, a kind of Christianity that accepted God but rejected divinely revealed doctrine. Moral tenets were no longer simply given but rather had to be justified by their effects on humans. I
The novel's length provided an opportunity for writers to
develop complex characters and plots on a grander scale than had previously been achieved.
In support of the thoughts and beliefs of Enlightenment empiricists, Locke believed that we
e decide morality by our senses; moral behavior is based on pleasure (good) and pain (evil). With his beliefs in moral behavior in mind, Locke proposed that morals, like mathematical problems, could be proved. However, he acknowledged that our senses carry some limitations.
The philosophers of the Enlightenment turned away from the influence of devout faith, which they believed clouded human judgment with emotional bias. Instead, they
elevated the role of reason in finding more answers about the world, which led to the rise of such schools of thought as skepticism*, rationalism*, and empiricism*Glossary Pronunciation. Enlightenment thinkers further developed the nuances of these philosophical approaches, debating and criticizing previous ideals.
According to deists, God created the world according to laws, set the laws—moral and natural—in motion, and those laws are working themselves out in an incessantly active, mobile universe. Religion, then, is less a matter of
emotional spirituality and more about understanding universal order and laws. Ritual and ceremony are not logical and have no value. There are no miracles, since all of nature is governed by God's own law.
The Encyclopédie represented
essential Enlightenment goals: acquiring and disseminating new knowledge to an international reading public whose lives it aimed to improve.
The Encyclopédie represented a
fundamental principle of the Enlightenment: to accumulate, codify, and preserve human knowledge. Its intention was to "change the general way of thinking" about life by providing rational information on important topics to the general public.
Locke also wrote highly influential books on
government, providing a basis for the American political experiment. In 1689,
The importance of cultivating and displaying emotions, particularly sympathy, soon found expression in the new genre of the novel. The novel made representing this kind of emotional complexity possible precisely because it
had the room to do so. A longer narrative meant that more character and plot development, more elaborate settings, and more conceptual themes could play out in this longer prose form. In Britain, one of the first novels was Pamela by Samuel Richardson, a novel that uses sympathy to attempt to enact social reform.
During the same time period, a new artistic movement swept through Europe inspired by a resurgence of artistic themes from the Classical Period of ancient Greece and Rome. Neoclassicism* (essentially, "new classicism") shunned the excess of Baroque works and embraced
harmony and balance. Ultimately, reason and realism united both the Enlightenment and Neoclassical artistic endeavors, distinguishing this period from the more religious and ornate Baroque.
What position would an Enlightenment philosopher take on the following quote by Saint Augustine? "Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe." a. They would probably agree. b. They would probably disagree.
he answer is b. Enlightenment thinkers believed in using reason and logic to deduce truths about the world. Trusting without evidence, as the quote suggests a person do, conflicts with those Enlightenment principles.
One area where we see the main themes of the Enlightenment converge is in the Declaration of Independence. The importance of the Declaration of Independence to the history of the United States goes without saying. However, it is more than simply a political declaration of separation from England. The Declaration, penned primarily by Thomas Jefferson in 1776, captures
in a succinct and powerful way the relationship between humanism, Enlightenment philosophy, and political governance. It established the idea of a new nation that was a product of the philosophies of the era, and it influenced more than just a collection of British colonies.
What is empiricism? a. The concept that all knowledge comes from the direct experience of the senses, which formed the foundation of the scientific method b. The concept that an empire's natural progression was expansion throughout the globe, claiming uncharted lands for the mother country c. An ideology that teaches that empirical knowledge is provided by the holy kingdom of heaven, and will be given to the people by the pope d. The principle that empires are holy and that the kingdom has a moral duty to teach and convert the lesser conquered peoples of the world to its culture.
he concept that all knowledge comes from the direct experience of the senses, which formed the foundation of the scientific method Correct. The answer is a. Empiricism, or the theory that all knowledge comes from the direct experience of the senses, is the foundation of the modern scientific method, in which observation and experimentation lead to ideas and theories.
During this period, the general public became more literate and had more access to books, thanks to the proliferation of printed material made possible by the printing press. Many saw this proliferation of reading material and its ready accessibility as a way of democratizing the act of learning. More access to reading materials changed access to literature; it was no longer just for the elite. Consequently, more literary access made a more
informed, opinionated, and engaged public.
Given the values of the Enlightenment, which description below would you image best matches a "neoclassical" garden? a. a profusion of wild flowers with vivid colors b. random groupings of flowers and trees in clumps c. an emphasis on growing traditional flowers d. landscaping that is attractive but made to look natural
landscaping that is attractive but made to look natural Correct. The answer is d. Neoclassical aesthetics focused on realism.
The Enlightenment cultivated an important and enduring genre: the
novel*. Fiction writers opened up a new world of thought to readers throughout Europe and America by popularizing the novel.
John Locke
ohn Locke (1632-1704) was one of the most influential philosophers and political theorists in British history. Many current ideas about selfhood, identity, and the way the mind works come from Locke.
Ideas that are commonplace in our day—such as the separation of church and state, religious toleration, and free speech—were controversial in the 18th century, and radical writers often risked their freedom. A group of French public intellectuals called the
philosophes* (the French word for philosopher), who spearheaded the Enlightenment, often faced imprisonment or exile for writing against political and religious authorities.
For Locke and the empiricists, moral behavior is based on ___________. a. scientific discoveries b. religious devotion c. pleasure and pain d. rational thought and reason
pleasure and pain Correct. For Locke and the empiricists, moral behavior is based on pleasure (good) and pain (evil). We decide morality by our senses.
During the Age of Enlightenment, many thinkers became disillusioned with the intense devotion to Christianity that defined much of the Baroque Period. Instead, inspired by scientific discoveries in physics and biology, deism* became the preferred set of beliefs for such philosophes*, who were the intelligentsia of the time. Philosophes were philosophical intellectuals, who believed in the
power of "natural law"—a concept that affirms that all of life is governed by orderly, rational processes. They opposed both religious and political authority, both priests and kings, because they believed that each individual needed to be equally free to use reason to determine his or her own destiny.
Due to the progression of science and rational thinking, questions of political order came into play heavily throughout Europe. Western rulers adopted the
rational thinking of the Enlightenment and incorporated its philosophies into their government
Three prominent philosophical movements during the Enlightenment were
rationalism* , empiricism* and skepticism*.
Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) argued that women were capable of
rationality and that they should be educated, if only because they needed an education in order to raise the nation's children and to be proper companions to men.
In this excerpt, Swift satirizes the
religious conflicts between Protestant England and Catholic France. Swift suggests that fighting over the sacrament in Christianity is like fighting over which end to break first when eating an egg. The satire gains force by mimicking the real consequences of being Catholic in Britain, where Catholics could not vote, hold office, or attend university.
In this excerpt, Voltaire mocks the
religious idea that since God created the world, everything must be for the best. "Te Deum" is a religious service thanking God for blessings. Here, it is held in the midst of terrible carnage. Voltaire wrote his 1759 novel as a satirical indictment of outdated social and political practices.
Deists do not believe in divine intervention and therefore do not pray. True or False?
rue Correct. The deist God is a grand designer and creator, but he or she is not a close personal friend or consoler. Therefore, deists believe that prayer, ritual, and ceremony are not logical and have no value.
Voltaire uses
satire in his novel to provide a social critique.
Swift uses
satire in his travel narrative to provide a social critique.
One popular genre meant to teach the reader and challenge the status quo was satiren, a depiction of people or situations that mocks what the writer sees as contemporary faults or hypocrisy. Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels is a
satire on human nature, while Voltaire's Candide mocks religious intolerance, human greed and cruelty, and philosophical optimism.
Philosophers turned toward
scientific principles and rational thought to eliminate superstition and ignorance in society.
In Gulliver's Travels, the narrator Lemuel Gulliver is a
ship's doctor who has a series of adventures as he pursues his fortune at sea. In his first trip, Gulliver awakens after a storm to find himself captured by the Lilliputians, people who are 6 inches tall. Gulliver describes his adventures in befriending and helping the Lilliputian emperor in his wars with the neighboring country. In the second part, Gulliver returns to the sea and is abandoned on an island of giant humans, the Brobdingnagians, where he is treated like a pet. In the third part, Gulliver travels to Laputa, a flying island where everyone is hyper-rational, but oblivious to the world around them. In the final part, Gulliver meets the Yahoos and Houyhnhnms, the former are actually humans, but disgusting and cruel, while the latter are horses who are rational and virtuous. Gulliver's conversations with his Houyhnhnm master reveal the extent to which human reason is used to increase humans' ability to do evil.
key concepts major themes of the neoclassical period and the enlightenment
skepticism rationalism empiricism order deism classicism
Which did Rousseau believe was an example of a barbaric practice justified by an over-rationalizing society? a. over taxation of the poor b. disdainful behavior toward the poor c. slavery d. oppression of women
slavery Correct. Rousseau believed that the self is corrupted by more developed societies, which have lost the primal touch of prioritizing liberty; thus, they allow slavery.
The suspicion of authority and reliance on human reason, or rationalism*, made nature a newly important realm. Rather than relying on religious doctrine*, scientists could
study God's work directly in the natural world.
Empiricists believed
that all knowledge was derived through our senses and based on ideas and theories on testing, observation, and experience.
Rationalists believed
that human reason is the key to knowledge.
There was a new willingness to question authority in all arenas of life. Scientific discoveries increased rapidly, as thinkers moved beyond received wisdom in astronomy, biology, human anatomy, and chemistry. In the political sphere, philosophers questioned
the "divine right of kings", and that challenge inevitably led to political reform and, in some cases, revolution. The life of the mind took center stage, whether it was the Encyclopédie, the project by French writers and thinkers to collect human knowledge in one place, or the focus on empiricism, the practice of basing knowledge on sensory experience.
Most historians date the start of the Age of Enlightenment in the West from the end of
the 17th century. This "Age of Reason," which lasted through much of the 18th century, saw advances in science, philosophy, government, and the arts. There was optimism about the benefits for humankind from rationalism. As the English philosopher Jeremy Bentham enthused, "The age we live in is a busy age, in which knowledge is rapidly advancing towards perfection."
Though these philosophies differed slightly in their approach, they were all adopted for the sake of scientific, philosophical, and social progress*. In this way, the Enlightenment moved away from
the Baroque Period's emphasis on establishing and showing absolute political power and more toward making advances in various intellectual fields, pursuing knowledge for knowledge's sake.
Skepticism and Progress Voltaire's novel addresses:
the hypocrisy of religious leaders the unrealistic optimism of religious philosophers who believed God had created a perfect world the need for humans to be skeptical of traditional social and political institutions
Skepticism and Classicism Swift's satire addresses:
the limitations and dangers of relying solely on abstract human reason the danger of unimportant religious disputes the value of older, Classical thinking compared to modern philosophy
The thinkers, philosophers, leaders, and scientists of the Enlightenment left a legacy that has informed and shaped the Western world and continues to inspire. The 18th-century philosopher Immanuel Kant maintained that
the motto of the Enlightenment was "Dare to use your own understanding!" It's a motto that has relevance in the 21st century as well.
Enlightenment literature—whether fiction or nonfiction, poetry or prose—was in many ways didactic; it sought to teach
the reader something valuable and to challenge the social, political, or religious status quo.
Rousseau had written in the Encyclopédie (see the tab on Denis Diderot) that
the self is corrupted by more developed societies, which have lost the primal touch of prioritizing liberty, and have instead embraced so much rationality that they have justified such barbaric practices as slavery. In all truth, forcing European rationality and culture on a "noble savage" ultimately binds him, in Rousseau's theory, with the same shackles of slavery worn by Europeans, who are too blinded by society to see their own chains imposed by "refined" rational and social compliancy. His emphasis on the natural state of man and natural order inspired a new philosophical movement that eventually evolved into romanticism.
In Candide, Candide grows up in his uncle's castle under the tutelage of Pangloss, who teaches Candide that
this is the best of all possible worlds. After being caught kissing his cousin, Cunégonde, Candide is expelled from the castle and is forced to join the Bulgar army. There, he witnesses atrocities, eventually deserts, and makes his way to Holland. In Holland he comes across Pangloss, now a beggar, but still optimistic, and they travel to Portugal. Pangloss is apparently hung as a heretic and Candide reunites with Cunégonde, who has become a sex slave after the Bulgars overran the castle. After killing the men who enslaved her, Candide escapes with Cunégonde to Argentina, where Cunégonde marries the governor because he is wealthy. Candide acquires a valet Cacambo and after another series of adventures, travels to Eldorado, a utopia. Still trying to marry Cunégonde, Candide takes jewels, which the natives don't value, from Eldorado, and sends Cacambo to buy Cunégonde from the governor. Although a number of people steal from Candide, he eventually ends up in Turkey where is once again encounters Pangloss, now a prisoner. He also finds and marries Cunégonde, although she is now ugly. Candide buys a farm where he settles with Cunégonde, Cacambo, and Pangloss, but they are dissatisfied until they live the simple and hard life of a farmer.
At its core, empiricism denied that any knowledge we have is innate to being human. According to this philosophy,
we are blank slates who only get knowledge through our senses of the world. Empiricists believed that knowledge of the world is limited because our senses and reason are limited.
