AKA the Age of Enlightenment
AKA the Enlightenment
English 11 AP
Basic Definition:
 The Age of Reason (or Enlightenment) was a
movement in Europe and the New World that
embraced scientific discovery, personal liberty,
religious tolerance, and the notion that REASON was
the most important element in our lives.
 The time-frame varies, but for our purposes we will say
that the Age of Reason began around the
RESTORATION of Charles II (1660s) and lasted until
the French Revolution (1790s).
Publications:
 Denis Diderot published an Encyclopedia of Sciences
in the 1700s. This was the first text of its kind to
explore both scientific discoveries and scientific
method.
More Publications
 Adam Smith published the “Wealth of Nations”, in
1776, a text which encouraged Meritocracy and
suggested a ‘laissez faire’ attitude towards markets and
economies. It became the foundation for the modern
capitalist system. (The principle is, if left alone, the
market will sort itself.)
The Dictionary
 In
1755, Samuel Johnson published the first
comprehensive English dictionary. It was, at the time,
considered one of the most important feats of
scholarship in English academia. It took him nine
years to write, and is a riot to read. (Example: His
definition for “oats” reads “a grain which in England is
generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the
people.“) Johnson also wrote poetry, but it was for his
dictionary, as well as his literary criticism, that he was
well-known. That was the sort of writing that was
valued at the time.
Biography – Boswell’s Life of Johnson
 James Boswell wrote The Life of Samuel Johnson in the
1760s, and it became the model for all modern
biographies. It was only at this point that the
biography, as a literary form, became popular in
Western literature.
Scientific Discoveries and
inventions during the Age of
Reason
- 1687 – Newton’s Three Universal Laws of Motion
- 1714 – Fahrenheit – Mercury Thermometer
- The Flying Shuttle Loom
- The Steam Engine
- The Cotton Gin
- Ben Franklin – Lightning rod – 1752
- 1781 – William Herschel discovers Uranus
Philosophy during the Age of
Reason
 People became less focused on the Divine Right of
Kings, and more focused on individual rights
 People used REASON and scientific method to explain
their world
 People believed that reason could improve society
 People believed in religious tolerance and individual
religious practice
 In the late 1700s Mary Wollstonecraft wrote A
Vindication on the Rights of Women, widely regarded
as the first feminist work ever published.
Travelogues
 In the 1600s and 1700s, travelogues were another form
of non-fiction texts that were very popular. As
European Empires expanded, people were anxious to
know more about the world around them.
Jonathan Swift
 Swift’s novel Gulliver’s Travels is a fictionalized (and
absurdist) travelogue, in the style of the 18th century.
In it, he chronicles the adventures of Lemuel Gulliver,
who finds adventure on the high seas and learns a
great deal about the world around him.
 Swift’s literary style is decidedly 18th century, with
lengthy sentences, long on detail, and many subtle
references to the political situations in Europe at the
time.