Enlightenment- 17th Century
Mrs. Craig
What is the Enlightenment?
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How is this different from
Humanism?
Humanists- looked BACKWARDS!
The empirical world matters.
Enlightenment looks FORWARD!!!
Progress is possible using reason.
Also called AGE OF REASON.
There were Skeptics!!!
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Pierre Bayle- French Huguenot
Wrote Historical and Critical Dictionary
Concluded that nothing can be know
beyond any doubt
Humanity’s best hope is open-minded
tolerance
David Hume- human mind nothing but a
“bundle of impressions”
Questioned reason
John Locke- Two Treatises of
Government
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Disagreed with Descartes who held
that all people are born with certain
ideas
Locke says “Tabula Rasa” – blank
slate- all ideas come from
experience
Believes 2 foundations of knowledge
(1) environment (not heredity)
(2) reason (not faith)
Montesquieu- Philosopher
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Wrote Spirit of Laws- compares
monarchs, republics and despotism
Credited with developing emerging
study of social sciences
Promoted liberty to prevent tyranny
“it is necessary that by the
arrangement of things– power checks
power!!”
Believed parlements(13 high courts)
were the frontline defenders of
liberty
Voltaire (real name Francois Marie Arouett)
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1717-imprisoned in Bastille 11
months for insulting French Regent
Revered Newton
Deism- concept of God as
clockmaker
Pessimistic- best one hopes for is
good monarch because man is
“rarely worthy to govern
themselves”
Voltaire (continued)
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Most famous work– Candide
Written as response to German
philospher Leipzig whose idea was
that God created the “best of all
possible worlds”
Diderot
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Encyclopedia 1765 – puts all
knowledge together in series of
articles– reached reading public
Censored by French government- Why?
Pope puts on Index- excommunication
for anyone who reads it!!
22 volumes in 20 years– 11 were art!
Condorcet
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Progress of Human Mind written in
hiding during Reign of Terror
9 stages of human progress to
utopian society
Nature has placed no bounds on
perfecting human faculties. This
progress of perfectibility is limited
only by duration on the globe to
which nature has placed us!”
Condoret (continued)
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Saw a better world- higher standard
of living, more leisure, more
equality among humans and
between genders, war given up as
irratinal, disease conquered by
medicine. (truly a man with vision!)
Rousseau
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Wrote Emile-education must be the
shield against tyranny
Also wrote Social Contract
“general will is sacred and absolute”
reflecting the common interests of
man
Believed man equal and every man
has a right to here in governmenthis definition of the social contract
Rousseau (continued)
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Only lawful form of government
rests on the will of the peoplecould justify the “appointed” king
but man must make laws since they
are the ones bound by them.