The Enlightenment

Age of the EnlightenmentDare to know! Have the courage to use your own intelligenceWords of Immanuel Kant Human ignorance is not caused by the lack of intelligence but from the lack of determination and courage to use that intelligence without anothers guidance.Sapere aude!

World History Timeline33,000 B.Cto8000 B.CCro-Magnon Man3200 B.C3,700,00 B.CAustralopithecus8350 B.CJericho built 1st walled town? The Great Flood (Noah)Money AstronomyMedicineTradeReligionLawEgypt &Mesopotamia(Fertile Crescent)India2500 B.CChina1500 BC300 BCAD 550AD 5892000 B.CGreeceThe AmericasAfricaRomeAD 146AD 476AD 30 Jesus is crucifiedAD 570 Muhammed is bornMedieval EuropeAD 1500Islamic EmpireAD 570AD 1250AD 1450Gutenbergs Printing PressAD 1517Luthers ReformationAD 1619 Jamestown colonists in AmericaAD 1643Louis XIV builds Versailles in FranceAD 1215Magna Carta is signedAD 1776America Declares IndependenceUnited States of AmericaAD 1789French RevolutionAD 1799Napoleon rules FranceAD 1863American Civil warAD 1914WWIAD 1940WWIIAD 20019/11AD 0

Enlightenment ThinkersBefore the Enlightenment how did philosophers view human beings?

Men are born into classes, some are born to rule, some are born to be ruledMen are inferior to God and have no hope of improving themselvesMen are incapable of understanding how the mysteries of the universe works

18th Century Politics BRITAIN Constitutional Monarchy FRANCE Royal Absolutism (cultural and religious unity) PRUSSIA, HABSBURG EMPIRE, RUSSIA Enlightened Despotism OTTOMAN EMPIRE traditional empire

Age of the EnlightenmentThe Renaissance may have opened the door to reason but had neither the courage nor the power to oppose the medieval concept of faith instead of reason.

The leaders of the Enlightenment had that courage and power to emphasize reason rather than faithDescartes in mathematics Mozart in music Rembrandt in painting Locke and Rousseau in politics Revolution was in the air

Age of Scientific RevolutionSummaryThe Scientific Revolution & the Enlightenment challenged and changed the way people thought about the world.

Enlightenment ThinkersPhilosophers influenced by Scientific Revolution

By using the Scientific method and logical reason, the Enlightenment philosophers hoped to figure out ways to improve conditions for people.

Enlightenment ThinkersBeginning in the Enlightenment how did philosophers view human beings?

Men are born free and equal, and this fact should be accounted for in govt

I think thereforeI am!Rene DescartesSums up Enlightenment philosophy

PEOPLE MUST RELY ON THEIR OWN REASON TO UNDERSTAND LIFE AND THE NATURAL ORDER

EVERYTHING MUST BE JUDGED BY ASKING WHAT IS HUMANLY REASONABLE1596-1650

Religions Purpose Changes under the EnlightenmentAs people used more and more of their reason to understand situations then they need the creator less and less

God might be useful for one's personal life but for science, politics, and gov't, human reason alone will suffice

Under the Enlightenment philosophy

Men should not use faith to justify reason

Instead they shouldApply reason to the human world, not just the natural worldExamine and practice religious toleranceConsider ideas of a democratic revolution

Voltaire 1700s defender of human rights & reform

He is the philosopher who advocated religious tolerance and the separation of church and stateWait until you hear his story!

Voltaire Separate church and state

His world imposed arrest and torture upon those citizens who expressed opinions that stood in opposition to the prevailing religious, social, and political viewsWait until you hear his story!

Voltaire 1700s What happened to Voltaire to make him want to separate church and state?

He was a good Catholic who felt God was a conscious intelligence that designed the world (that was enough for censure from the Roman Catholic Church; it was heresy)Church said horrendous earthquake in 1755 was God's judgment on the French peopleJerry Falwell9-11 was Gods punishment on us because of all the homosexuals

Voltaire Voltaire's then became even more anti-Catholic after Huguenot Jean Calas was tortured and executed in 1762 Calas, falsely convicted of having killed his son to prevent him from converting to Catholicism, was tortured by the Catholic authorities in hopes he would confess he was subjected to the question ordinaire: his arms and legs were stretched until they were pulled from their sockets. When he did not confess (his son committed suicide) he was subjected to the question extraordinaire: fifteen pints of water poured down his throat. Calas continued to claim innocence. 15 more pints added, swelling his body to twice normal sizeExecutioner then broke each of his limbs in two places and finally strangled him to death. His corpse was burned at the stake.

Voltaire Voltaire believed passionately in the need to reform society and to reform the church but he found he could not influence the king of France nor the church authorities so ....he turned to the common people, becoming THE LEADING DEFENDER OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE NEED TO CHANGE SOCIETYhe flooded Europe with political pamphlets, novels, poems, etc.he criticized the Bible and organized religion which he thought was used to crush any new ideas and used to continue erroneous beliefs in superstition The result of these incidents? Voltaire will believe strongly in the separation of church and state

Voltaire Though it might seem easy, today, to criticize such a passionate emphasis on reason, remember that Voltaire's society tortured people who went against the accepted norm.

WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO PAY THAT PRICE TO CHANGE SOCIETY IN WAYS YOU DEEM NECESSARY?

Voltaires Wisdom Every man is guilty of all the good he didnt do.

God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh.

If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.

It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.

Love truth and pardon error.

Voltaires Wisdom

I may not agree with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.

Hobbes

Hobbes100 years before Voltaire there was a philosopher named Hobbes who wrote a book called Leviathan

HobbesYears of nasty religious wars and nasty English civil war (500,000 dead)Man in the world is a nasty and brutal beast. He is ruled by selfish interestSociety is not safehttp://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2008/11/12/alg_gears.jpg

Hobbes 1600s

Hobbes introduced the organizing principle of the social contract (dont confuse this with another later book called the Social Contract)SOCIAL CONTRACT says that individual people give up some of their freedoms/liberties in exchange for the protection and benefits of the groupCrucial because according to this contract good and evil are no longer considered in absolute terms, right and wrong are simply determined by the collective decisionHe believes an absolute monarchy is necessary for the greater good and safety. An absolute monarchy is the best form of govt because it ensures everyone is protected and safe from the evil in all men

Hobbes 1600s

The idea that there is a contract between the rulers and the people will hold

Can you see how this will change the way people think?

Hobbes 1600sHobbes wrote Leviathan the 1600s

100 years later another writer will expand on the idea of a social contractand his ideas will cause the world to explode

Jean Jacques Rousseau will write in the 1700s

His book is called The Social Contract

Rousseau 1700sAge of exploration.Rousseau believes: Man in nature is a noble savage

His argument: The Enlightenment's emphasis on reason and science had caused people to lose more freedom than they gained

Rousseau 1700s

His belief: people should have absolute freedom - freedom not just from culture but from authority of any kind ...this means that for Rousseau - the individual became the center of the universe

Rousseau 1700sThe impact/result: Rousseau rejects the Judeo-Christian concept of original sin and argued humans are born innocent and pure - it is society that corrupts.

Rousseau 1700sHis argument:

A government is a contract between the rulers and the people.and if one party breaks their duty in the contract..then the other party has a right to change it.

Rousseau 1700sConclusion Individual freedom only secure if there was a "general will" - - this way people would have peer pressure to do the right thing and treat everyone equal

Rousseaus Philosophy Concept of the General Will.Only those who make their own laws are free.Virtuous citizens will agree, become one.General Will = law + freedom!

Rousseaus Philosophy Virtue exists in the state of nature, but lost in society.

Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.Civil liberty invest ALL rights and liberties into a society.

But What Does It All Mean?What is the Big Picture?Enlightenment philosophy = eventually eliminated the need for supernatural beings (oh, poor Gilgamesh) and divine commands (oh, poor Crusaders) while at the same time implicitly eliminating the clear distinctions between humans and other living organisms.

A dehumanization of people has begun

The Characteristics of the EnlightenmentRationalism reason is the arbiter of all things.Scientific MethodMathematical analysisExperimentationInductive reasoning.3. Utilitarianism the greatest good for the greatest number.4. Tolerance No opinion is worth burning your neighbor for.

MontesquieuAnother profoundly important philosopher enters the picture

He believes to avoid abuse of govt power then the govt should be divided among three branches

The Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755)He wrote a book called On the Spirit of Laws, 1758

Montesquieus Philosophy Freedom for the individual is the goalTo achieve this, govt needs constitution to guarantee the safety and security of the individualA separation of political powers ensured freedom and libertyInspiring!

There is another philosopherJohn LockeHe believes:The people are sovereign - the right to rule and the power lies within the common man - by natural lawMonarchs are not chosen by GodThe purpose of a govt is to protect mans right to life, liberty , and property

John Locke (1632-1704)

He wrote Two Treatises of Government, 1690

The individual must become a rational creature.Virtue can be learned and practiced.Human beings possess free will.they should be prepared for freedom.obedience should be out of conviction, not out of fear.Legislators owe their power to a contract with the people.Neither kings nor wealth are divinely ordained.

John Lockes Philosophy There are certain natural rights that are endowed by God to all human beings.life, liberty, property! The doctrine of the Divine Right of Kings was nonsense. He favored a republic as the best form of government.

Enlightenment PhilosophyHobbesMontesquieuRousseauLockeWhich one of the philosophersinfluenced the U.S. Constitution the most?(Locke- but the others are in there in more subtle forms)Who wrote the Declaration of Independence? (Thomas Jefferson)What would earlier political philosophers like Machiavelli think of this?

Mary Wollstonecraft British 1st Feminist Philosopher A Vindication for the Rights of Women she argues that women are not naturally inferior to men, but appear to be only because they lack education. She suggests that both men and women should be treated as rational beings and imagines a social order founded on reason.1759-1797

Denis Diderot1713-1784 French Wrote the Encyclopedia show the dependence of men's ideas on their five senses.The work sought to bring together all knowledge of the time and condense this information for all to use. An encyclopedia would give the layman an ability to reason and use knowledge to better themselves;

Thomas Paine (1737-1809)Wrote Common Sense, 1776 It is right for man to revolt against an improper govt

Mans rights are eternal and unchanging!

Enlightenment ThinkersAdam Smith created idea of laissez-faire economics.

He wrote The Wealth of NationsWhen it comes to the economy then govt should do nothing. Natural forces of economy - supply and demand - should work freely.Ex: govt should protect people from invasion by enemy but not from poverty.

The American PhilosophersJohn Adams (1745-1826)Ben Franklin (1706-1790)Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)...life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness...

James Madison 1751-1838Jeffersons friend and neighborWrote Constitution of Virginia 1776, Leader of Virginian Assembly to the Continental Congress., Member of Constitutional Convention- Father of the Constitution, Secretary of State, 4th President.

Thomas Jefferson 1743-1825Farmer (unsuccessful), Lawyer, Congressman, Governor, Ambassador, Secretary of State, V.P. and 3rd President,Wrote the most famous 36 words in history.. 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 GovernmentWished to be remembered for:Declaration of IndependenceReligious FreedomUniversity of Virginia

Age of Scientific RevolutionSummaryThe Scientific Revolution & the Enlightenment challenged and changed the way people thought about the world.

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