Chapter 18
Part 2
The Enlightenment
A Secular World View
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For the first time in human history, people
believed that science and reason could explain
all aspects of life
Belief in the autonomy of man’s intellect
APART FROM GOD
Faith in reason rather than faith in revelation
Deism
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The Religious arm of the Enlightenment
The existence of God was a rational explanation
of the universe and the form it has taken
God is seen as a cosmic creator (a cosmic
clockmaker) who created the universe and then
stepped back and left it running…like a clock
Deism
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The universe is governed by NATURAL LAW…not
by a personal God
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Some called it, “The ghost in the machine”
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The supernatural has no place in human life
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Deism grew out of Newton’s theories regarding
natural law
Belief that Scientific Method
could explain the laws of society
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Progress in society was possible if natural laws
and how they applied to society could be
understood
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Education was seen as a key to helping society
to progress
John Locke (1632-1704)
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1690 Two Treatises of Civil Government
Was the Philosophical defense of the Glorious
Revolution
In the state of nature: humans are basically good but
need protection (differed from Hobbes, Machiavelli)
Governments to provide rule of law BUT only with
the consent of the governed
The Purpose of Government
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To protect the NATURAL RIGHTS of the
people: Life, Liberty and Property
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The Right to Rebellion: the people have a right
to abolish a government that does not protect its
citizens’ natural rights
Locke: Essay Concerning
Human Understanding (1690)
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Stressed the importance of the environment on
the individual
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Education was seen as the key
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Tabula Rasa: the human mind is born as a blank
slate and registers input from the senses
Locke
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Saw all human knowledge as the result of
sensory experiences without any preconceived
notions
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BUT education was necessary for social progress
and human development (both)
Toleration was popularized
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Montaigne and Skepticism
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Bernard de Fontenelle (1657-1757) made very
complicated scientific ideas accessible to the
public (explained in simple terms)
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Was skeptical of absolute truth and questioned
claims of organized religion
Pierre Bayle (1647-1706)
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1697 Critical and Historical Dictionary
Advocate of complete toleration of ideas
A person should be free to worship any religion or
NONE AT ALL!
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WAS A MAJOR CRITIC OF Christianity and its
attempt to impose its beliefs
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Was a skeptic…like Montaigne
The Philosophes
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Were committed to fundamental social reform
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Were not professional philosophers (like Locke
and Descartes) but DID successfully popularize
Enlightenment ideas
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By 1775 most of Western Europe’s educated
elite had embraced the Enlightenment
The Philosophes
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Believed in progress through discovering the
natural laws governing nature and human
existence
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Were radically optimistic about how people
should live and govern themselves (though most
did not have faith in the idea of true democracy
for the great unwashed)
Voltaire (1694-1778)
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Maybe the most influential of all of the
Enlightenment Philosophers
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Used sharp criticism and ridicule on those who
disagreed with his views
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Was a huge critic of the Catholic Church
Voltaire and the Catholic Church
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Believed that prayer and miracles had no place
with natural law
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Was strongly Deist
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Believed that human reason (not faith) was the
key to progress (along with education, of course)
Voltaire
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Was so critical of society that many believe he
set the stage for the French Revolution
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He hated bigotry and injustice
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His most famous quote against religious
intolerance, “Ecracsez l’infame” (Crush the
infamous thing!)
Voltaire
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Was raised as a Christian but came to distrust
organized religion as being corrupt
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Believed that the Church’s leadership had
moved away from the central message of Jesus
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Wrote Candide: “a biting satirical novel.”
Voltaire
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Was an advocate of “Enlightened Despotism”
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A more benevolent form of absolutism was the
best that we could hope for
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Believed that the people were incapable of
governing themselves
Voltaire
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Believed in equality before the law BUT
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NOT in the equality of the classes
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Influenced several “Enlightened Despots”
Frederick the Great (Prussia)
 Catherine the Great (Russia)
 Joseph II (Austria)
 Napoleon (the Greatest of them all)
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Montesquieu (1689-1755)
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Member of the French nobility
Hated Louis XIV
1748 Spirit of the Laws called for separation of powers in
government…3 branches:
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monarchy
nobility (the French Parlements (independent courts)
the rest of the population
Goal to promote liberty and prevent anarchy
Montesquieu
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Favored the British system: the Monarchy,
Parliament, and independent courts
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Had lived for a time in England
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He supported the 13 Parlements in France as a
check against tyrannical absolute rule by the
monarch
Montesquieu
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Had a big impact on the creation of the U.S.
Constitution and the French Revolution
Rousseau 1712-1788)
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The Social Contract 1762
Believed that too much emphasis on property
and not enough consideration of the people was
a root cause of social injustice
The General Will: A consensus of the majority
should control a nation (implied democracy)
“The General Will”
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Will be manipulated and used later by dictators
to rationalize extreme nationalism and tyranny
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Robespierre
Hitler
Mussolini
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No protection for the minority
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Rousseau
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Was part of the Enlightenment
But better known as the father of the Romantic
movement
After the French Revolution, the glorification of
Reason will give way to the glorification of
emotion
Rousseau
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Believed that man in a state of nature was good
The Noble Savage
Man was corrupted by materialism of civilization
Influenced the American Transcendentalists:
man was corrupted by vestiges of civilization
(institutions)
Rousseau and Education
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Believed in child-centered, hands-on education
Progressive: learning by doing
Self-expression was encouraged
Advice: Love your children, cherish them
1762 Emile
The Irony: He left his 5 illegitimate children in
an orphanage rather than educating and
“cherishing” them
The French Revolution
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Will be divided into 3 Ages
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The Age of Montesquieu (A Republic)
The Age of Rousseau (Majority Rule: the Reign
of Terror)
The Age of Voltaire (Enlightened Despotism:
Napoleon)
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Denis Diderot (1713-1784)
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1765 The Encyclopedia the greatest and most
representative work of the philosophes
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A huge collection of political and social critiques from
various authors and Enlightenment Philosophers
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Emphasized science and reason while criticizing
religion, intolerance, tyranny, and injustice
The Encyclopedia
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Tried to teach people to think critically and
objectively
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Was banned in France and placed in the Index of
Forbidden Books by the pope
Beccaria (Italian)
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1764 On Crimes and Punishment
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Tried to humanize criminal law based on
Enlightenment concepts of reason and equality before
the law
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Punishment for a crime should be based rationally on
the damage done to society
Should NOT be linked to the religious concept of sin
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Beccaria
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Was opposed to the death penalty except in the
case of serious threats against the state
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Opposed to the use of torture to extract
confessions
Beccaria
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Influenced Enlightened Despots:
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Frederick the Great banned torture
Catherine the Great restricted the use of torture
Joseph II banned torture and the death penalty
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Economic Theory and the
Enlightenment
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Economists were called Physiocrats
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Quesnay (1694-1774) Leader of the French
Physiocrats
Were opposed to mercantilism
Wanted to institute Laissez-faire in agriculture
Believed that the French government and nobility
stifled agricultural production by their interference
and control
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Adam Smith (1727-1790)
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Wealth of Nations 1776
Considered the Bible of capitalism
Advocated laissez-faire in economics of a nation
Believed that the economy is governed by the NATURAL
LAWS of Supply and Demand
When people work for their own self-interest, they will be
more productive
Competition will encourage producers to manufacture most
efficiently in order to sell higher quality, lower-cost goods than
competitors
Government regulation would only interfere and stifle
production