The Enlightenment

1
The Enlightenment
Period 4/5 WHAP Fleming 1-25-05 Justin Martin,
David Morgenstern, Riley Newell, Andy Wilder.
2
The Path to enlightenment

• Started by intellectuals who loved the Scientific
  Revolution.
• All systems of thought had to be rational and
  scientific.
• Reason, natural law, hope, and progress were
  buzzwords.
• Religion was disliked and secular thought was
  increasing.
• Books and stories of other cultures became
  best-sellers
• Common practices that used to seem so practical
  became tradition.

• Newton and Locke
• Newton said that the whole world followed reason,
  so intellectuals tried discovering laws that
  governed politics, justice and many other things.
• Lockes theory of knowledge said that everyone
  was born with a blank mind.
• People tried to use reason to change the
  environment to mold the blank minds into
  something better.

3
Philosophies and Their Ideas

• Intellectuals involved in the movement were
  philosophers, few knew what that meant
• Most came from upper middle class and nobility
• It was an international movement but much came
  from France (it was the center)
• They created a movement that touched the entire
  western world
• The Enlightenment changed with each generation,
  it evolved
• 3 French philosophers changed the movement
  forever, they were
• Montesquieu
• Voltaire
• Diderot
• Montesquieu
• Came from French nobility. He wrote Sprit of the
  Laws in 1748. He tried to apply to scientific
  method to government to determine natural laws.
  He identified and explained three different types
  of governments
• Republics
• Monarchies
• Despotism
• Used English constitution as an example. He
  stressed the importance of checks and balances.
  His ideas were used to form our constitution

4
Philosophies and Their Ideas continued...

• Voltaire
• His real name was Francouis-Marie Arouet. Came
  from a middle class family in Paris. First was a
  playwright. He became famous and wealthy.
  Criticized basic traditional religion. Also
  heavily believed in religious toleration and
  Deism, which implied there being a God who
  created the universe and let it run according to
  natural laws.
• Diderot
• Denis Diderot became a freelance writer. Thought
  Christianity was fanatical and unreasonable.
  Wrote the Encyclopedia to change the general way
  of thinking. Supposedly led to a more tolerant
  and humane society.

5
Toward a New Science of Man

• The Enlightenment belief that Newtons scientific
  methods could be used to discover the natural
  laws underlying all areas of human life led to
  the emergence in the eighteenth century of what
  the philosophers called a Science of Man.
• In a number of areas, such as economics,
  politics, and education, the philosophies arrived
  at natural laws that they believed governed human
  actions
• The Physiocrats and Adam Smith have been viewed
  as founders of the modern discipline of economics
• The founder of the Physiocrats was Francois
  Quesnay, a highly successful French doctor.
• Quesnay and Physiocrats claimed they would
  discover the natural law of economics that
  governed human society
• Their major natural law of economics was that
  individuals should be left free to pursue their
  own economic self-interest
• Through the actions of these individuals all
  society would benefit
• Consequently they argued that he state should in
  no way interrupt the free plat of natural
  economic forces by government regulations on the
  economy, but should leave it alone, a doctrine
  that subsequently became known as laissez-faire
  (French for leave it alone)

6
Later Enlightenment

• 1760s the worldview of enlightenment began
• Discourse on the Origins of the Inequality of
  Mankind was written
• It stated people had adopted laws and governors
  in order to preserve their private property, and
  that in that process people had been enslaved by
  government
• The Social Contract was written in 1762
• Emile was also written in this time

The Women Question in Enlightenment

• Male intellectuals stated that women were
  inferior and that the male domination of women
  was ultimately right and necessary
• Female intellectuals suggested ways to improve
  the conditions of women
• The Vindication of the Rights of Women was
  written in 1792

7
Culture in the Enlightened Age

• A new style that affected architecture and
  decoration called Rococo spread throughout
  Europe. Rococo emphasized grace, charm, and
  gentle actions. It rejected strict geometrical
  patterns and included lots of curves.
• Music- Bach and Handel were great musical
  geniuses of the 18th century. The century was
  one of the most important centuries for music in
  history. Bach and Handels music was monumental
  and had elaborate musical structures. Haydn and
  Mozart were two well known musicians from the
  second half of the century, and their work is
  considered classical today.
• There was a great expansion of reading and
  publishing including magazines and newspapers.
• Group activities among the normal population grew
  along with community festivals. Carnival was the
  most important lasting for a long time after
  Christmas.

8
Conclusion

• People were fascinated by other cultures, Chinese
  in particular, and grew a distaste for their own.
• People tried to use reason not religion to change
  the environment and to mold new thought patterns
  into minds.
• Philosophers used the scientific method for new
  research and in general criticized religion
  especially Christianity.
• Rococo, a new architectural and decoration style
  spread throughout Europe and emphasized grace and
  curving lines.
• The century saw many great musicians such as
  Bach, Handel, Mozart, and Haydn.
• Quesnay and Physiocrats major natural law of
  economics was that individuals should be left
  free to pursue their own economic self-interest
• As always, men said women were inferior and women
  tried to gain rights.