The age of Enlightenme

nt.Eighteenth Century France

The objectives of this slide show are:

• In what ways was the enlightenment and outgrowth of the Scientific Revolution?

• What were some of the new fads of thought that also occurred during the enlightenment?

• Indentify the importance of the Encyclopedia.• Assess the importance of Montesquieu’s ideas on the

American Revolution.• You will know the main targets of the criticisms of

Voltaire and Rousseau.• You will learn how the Calas case was a case for the

freedom of all mankind against despotic government.

The Enlightenment

was an extension of the Scientific Revolution

POP QUIZ???• While the makers of the scientific Revolution

had used their intellectual powers to discover the natural laws that governed the operation of the physical universe, the thinkers of the Enlightenment sought through reasoning to discover the natural laws that governed the affairs of human begins and human society.

It took place against the backdrop of the various European Wars,

including:

• The War of Spanish Succession• The War of Austrian Succession• The Seven Years War

The Philosophes

• While The Enlightenment was an international movement, most of the leading thinkers were French.

• Philosophe=French word meaning philosopher – Developed new ideas about

government, economics and religion

– Ideas which would improve the human condition and reform society

Their audience was the informed public from all classes. They had a lot to say

about the flaws of society.

This was different than the prior belief that the times of the Ancients, Greece, Rome, and Biblical times had never

and would never be surpassed

Science had helped to

end Witchcraft

and superstition

Perhaps God was not so personal. Perhaps he was an intelligent human

being who wound up the watch and let events unfold.

Perhaps God was not so personal. Perhaps he wound up the watch and let events unfold.

God as a “Watchmaker”—who wound the watch up and let it run…this was called deism.

..leaving human beings the freedom to govern themselves.

That God was governed by the natural laws that Newton laid down.

Two cultures collided with

this belief—the popular and the

elite.

During this exciting time, some tried a greater commitment to religion. In

England, Handel wrote his great Messiah…

and John Wesley founded the

Methodists. He preached in

America. This religious agitation

was part of the Great Awakening.

The elite in society were not part of these upsets—they aligned themselves with the official churches: Anglican,

Lutheran or Catholic.

At the same time, strange ideas also arose…these ideas were “fads” or areas

of mystery.

The ideas of Freemasonry took form in England and Colonial America.

The masons met secretly, had rituals, and, some said, had secret knowledge

about ancient rites.

The Masons were very popular among all walks of life. Even though they were a “secret” society, they met to discuss many

enlightenment concepts.

A German offset of the Masons were

the Illuminati.

And women provided the meeting places in their elegant salons.

The salons were legendary…intelligent women provided a setting for the philosophes to meet

and discuss the challenges of the day.

In the salons, talent and creativity

counted more than noble

lineage.

Many revolutionary ideas would

find their roots in these discussions.

Condorcet and “Progress”

• Marquis de Condorcet- “Progress of the Human Mind”– Traced development of human

history through nine eras, contending that in the 10th era peace, virtue and justice would prevail

John Locke (1632-1704)Knowledge from experience

• Provided a vigorous defense of England’s Glorious Revolution of 1688

• “Essays Concerning Human Understanding” – Tabula Rasa

John Locke (1632-1704)Social Contract and Natural Rights

• “Second Treatise of Government”

• SOCIAL CONTRACT THEORY– Mutual Consent– Life, Liberty and Property– Right to Rebel– Constitutional Government

Social Contract

Thomas Hobbes John Locke• Humans are naturally

cruel, greedy and selfish.• To escape this “brutish”

life people entered into a social contract.• Only a powerful

government could ensure an orderly society.• Believed only an absolute

monarchy could keep a society completely orderly.

• Humans are naturally reasonable, moral and good• Humans have natural

rights: life liberty and property• People form governments

to protect natural rights• Best government was one

with limited power• If a government violates

people’s natural rights, people have the right to overthrow government

The most famous

achievement of the

Enlightenment was the

Encyclopedia.

The Encyclopedia came to be a set of 17 very large volumes published

between 1751 and 1772.

The publisher was a Denis

Diderot.

People paid to have a volume of the Encyclopedia.

The Encyclopedia had articles on everything from philosophy to bone-

setting to making gears!

The goal of the Encyclopedia was to make available all the current up-to-

date technological, cultural, and philosophical knowledge of the day.

It was unique because it was purchased by people from all over Europe. Even

small towns had at least one copy.

The information was shared, improved upon, and widely discussed: People were enlightened by its knowledge.

Voltaire, Montesquieu

and Rousseau.

Voltaire (1694-1778)

One of the greatest minds of all time…

Voltaire lived a long time, traveled a lot, wrote a lot, and was very influential.

Voltaire was the great

champion of freedom of

thought.

As a young man he spent time in the Bastille for his criticism of Louis XV’s

regent, the Duke of Orleans.

Voltaire and Politics

• Letters on the English (1733)

He was a courtier of Madame de Pompadour, Louis XV and spent two years in Frederick the Great’s court.

He believed in religious toleration.

One of his most famous quotes about religion was “Ecrasez l’infame!” which translated means “crush the infamous

thing.” He was referring to the Catholic church.

He took on the defense of many who were victims of despotic power.

His most famous case was the Calas case.

Calas was a Protestant who was accused of killing his mentally ill son, who was converting to be a Catholic.

In reality, the son had committed suicide.The local authorities (the local parlement) ordered that Calas be

executed.

The elder Calas was broken at the wheel in a brutal, public execution.

Voltaire was excited about the case, and saw

it as a very public chance to exonerate, and publicize the injustices

inherent in France. Treatise on Tolerance

(1763)

The Calas family was fully vindicated. This was a victory for liberty and a

blow against injustice.

This victory was the talk of Europe, and Voltaire was on the lips of all who

loved freedom.

In this Satire he attacked religion persecution.

As an aristocrat, Voltaire was a believer in liberty—for “his kind”—that is the enlightened classes.

He didn’t think that the common folk..those of lower class origin, were the ones that should be ruling France.

Montesquieu (1689-1755)

He developed important ideas that have a direct bearing on our American Society:

His revolutionary idea was the

separation and balance of powers.

Power should be divided between the

King and the People. He admired the English

constitution.

This would have a strong influence on the Americans when they debated and

wrote their constitution.

• Montesquieu’s ideas greatly influenced the founding fathers. They incorporated the idea of separation of powers into the constitution. Montesquieu is the “unknown” father of our country.

Unlike Voltaire, Rosseau did not come from the

upper classes. He was neglected as a child, a runaway at 16, and was largely self-

taught.

He attacked society as artificial and corrupt.

He criticized the salons…

He argued that much of civilization was evil and corrupt.

Natural Education

• “State of nature”• “Emile” 1762

Rousseau’s most important book was the Social Contract.

The contract was among the people themselves. This contract was the

General Will. Individuals, though they

had their own liberty, must surrender to the

liberty of the masses—the General Will.

The founding fathers of America thought this idea of General Will was a bit

strange…

This idea would be exploited in the French Revolution, to justify the use of widespread executions. It was the “General Will” that

such atrocities happen.

Both totalitarians (dictators) and democrats have said that Rousseau’s General Will was

part of their ideology.

Rousseau is also considered the “Father” of the Romantic movement.

His novels were widely read. They fostered a love of common things, common people. He

said that women should nurse their own babies, and that people should clothe themselves in

natural, loose clothing.

Voltaire thought Rousseau to be a joke—he said “After I’ve read Rousseau, I feel like I

have to get down on all fours.”

This return to nature influenced literature and fostered a few fads…

Some, like the French Queen Marie Antoinette, built fake “peasant’ villages where they could

play like they were a milk maid!

The upper classes began to see their lives as artificial and shallow.

Voltaire and Rousseau were Enlightenment thinkers who influenced ideas of liberty.

LAW AND JUSTICE

• Essay on Crimes and Punishment (1764)– Cesare Beccaria

Economic Thought/Theorgy

• Physiocrats=economic philospophes– “Laissez-Faire, laissez passer” (Let do, let pass)

Economic Thought/Theorgy

• Francois Quesnay (1694-1774)– Leading French Physiocrat

• Adam Smith (1723-1790)– Scottish economist– “Wealth of Nations” (1776)

• Free market/ “Invisible Hand”

The objectives of this slide show were:

• In what ways was the enlightenment and outgrowth of the Scientific Revolution?

• What were some of the new fads of thought that also occurred during the enlightenment?

• Indentify the importance of the Encyclopedia• Assess the importance of Montesquieu on the American

Revolution.• You will know the main targets of the criticisms of

Voltaire and Rousseau.• You will learn how the Callas case was a case for the

freedom of all mankind against despotic government.

BIG PICTURE• Thinkers of the Enlightenment proposed a broad

program for the reform of government and society.

• Although they often tended to oversimplify human nature and to exaggerate the supremacy of reason in human affairs, they offered forthright and often courageous criticisms of the inadequacies of the Old Regime.

• Ideas changed thought and action of the makers of the American and French Revolutions and on advocates of reform generally in the Western World.

Heritage of the Enlightenment

• Today the Enlightenment is often viewed as a historical anomaly – a brief moment when a number of thinkers infatuated with reason vainly supposed that the perfect society could be built on common sense and tolerance, a fantasy which collapsed amid the Terror of the French Revolution and the triumphal sweep of Romanticism.

Heritage of the Enlightenment (2)

• Religious thinkers repeatedly proclaim the Enlightenment dead.

• Marxists denounce it for promoting the ideals and power of the bourgeoisie at the expense of the working classes.

• Postcolonial critics reject its idealization of specifically European notions as universal truths.

Heritage of the Enlightenment (3)

• Yet in many ways, the Enlightenment has never been more alive.

• It formed the consensus of international ideals by which modern states are judged.– Human rights– Religious tolerance – Self-government