HIST 2312 Topic Six b: The Enlightenment
A. We have a new idea of a universe without supernatural or religious
forces in play.
1. If the universe is mechanistic, then humans can “improve”
the machine
2. this is what the philosophers of the Enlightenment are
trying to do
3. one of the few historical trends that names itself
4. no real beginning or end
5. not agreed on how to carry out “improvements”
6. they did have some fundamental principles in common
a. universe is rational and can be understood
b. human experience, not authority, is the ultimate
truth
c. scientific models can be applied to the individual,
societies, governments, economies, etc.
d. the world can be improved through reason, logic,
education, i.e. studying the machine
e. belief in Deism
B. Pre-Enlightenment (17th century)
1. Thomas Hobbes, 1588-1679, English
a. Leviathan, published 1651
b. idea of the ‘social contract’
2. Rene Descartes, 1596-1650, French
a. invented analytical geometry (thanks a lot)
b. Discourse on Method, published 1637
c. his philosophical system is known as Dualism (or the
Cartesian mind-body split)
3. John Locke, 1632-1704, English
a. rejected Descartes’ dualism in favor of empiricism
b. An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, 1690
- “blank slate” theory
c. Two Treatises on Government, 1690
-“social contract” (but differed from Hobbes)
d. these two books are massively influential
e. written shortly after the Glorious Revolution
C. Height of the Enlightenment (18th century)
1. Centered in France around the philosophes
2. They advocate three things
a. progress
b. Deism
c. tolerance (especially religious tolerance)
3. They are concerned with practical reform not abstract philosophy
4. Two most influential of the philosophes are Voltaire and
Rousseau
5. Voltaire, or Francois Marie Arouet, 1694-1788, French
a. influenced by Newton and Locke
b. attacked the Catholic Church
- Jean Calas trial
c. A Treatise on Tolerance, 1763
d. often in trouble with the government
e. Candide, 1759
6. Jean Jacques Rousseau, 1712-1778, Swiss
a. how to define “liberty”
b. Discourse on Inequality, 1754
c. Social Contract, 1762
d. also wrote a guide to education, a constitution for Poland,
an analysis of the effect of theatre on public morals, an
opera, a novel (which was a best-seller), and an
autobiography
7. These works were banned in France, so published in the
Netherlands
8. Denis Diderot, chief editor of Encyclopedia
9. Baron de Montesquieu, Spirit of Laws, 1748
a. supported constitutional monarchy
b. government of checks and balances
10. David Hume, The Natural History of Religion, 1755
a. argues for moral relativism
D. Results of the Enlightenment
1. The single most enduring result of the Enlightenment is the
United States of America
2. anti-slavery societies emerge
3. anti-war societies
4. Capitalist economic systems
a. based on Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith
5. many historians and philosophers consider the Enlightenment to
be the “birth” of the modern age (which continues to this day)
6. philosophes did not advocate revolution but their writings will
inspire revolutions around the globe
7. the Enlightenment only applied to a small segment of the
population
E. Society during the Enlightenment
1. Upper Class
a. frivolous and superficial
b. yet supported Enlightenment philosophes
2. Middle Class, or Bourgeoisie
a. gaining population
b. create a market for popular culture
c. interest in children
d. concerned with morality
3. Lower Class, peasant or serf
a. quality of life depends on geographical location
b. Northern and Western Europe vs. Eastern Europe
c. status of women
d. place of children
F. Culture during the Enlightenment
1. Drama
a. In France comedies popular
b. In England, Restoration drama
2. The Novel
a. Defoe, Robinson Crusoe
b. Johnathan Swift
3. Visual Arts
a. Roccoco in France
b. Portrait and satire in England
4. Music
a. dominated by Vienna and Mozart
5. Roots of Romanticism
a. Rousseau’s Confessions
b. Goethe’s Sorrows of Young Werther
c. “mesmerism”