the age of enlightenment. eighteenth century france
TRANSCRIPT
The objectives of this slide show are:
• In what ways was the enlightenment and outgrowth of the Scientific Revolution?
• What were some of the new fads of thought that also occurred during the enlightenment?
• Indentify the importance of the Encyclopedia.• Assess the importance of Montesquieu’s ideas on the
American Revolution.• You will know the main targets of the criticisms of
Voltaire and Rousseau.• You will learn how the Calas case was a case for the
freedom of all mankind against despotic government.
POP QUIZ???• While the makers of the scientific Revolution
had used their intellectual powers to discover the natural laws that governed the operation of the physical universe, the thinkers of the Enlightenment sought through reasoning to discover the natural laws that governed the affairs of human begins and human society.
It took place against the backdrop of the various European Wars,
including:
• The War of Spanish Succession• The War of Austrian Succession• The Seven Years War
The Philosophes
• While The Enlightenment was an international movement, most of the leading thinkers were French.
• Philosophe=French word meaning philosopher – Developed new ideas about
government, economics and religion
– Ideas which would improve the human condition and reform society
Their audience was the informed public from all classes. They had a lot to say
about the flaws of society.
This was different than the prior belief that the times of the Ancients, Greece, Rome, and Biblical times had never
and would never be surpassed
Perhaps God was not so personal. Perhaps he was an intelligent human
being who wound up the watch and let events unfold.
Perhaps God was not so personal. Perhaps he wound up the watch and let events unfold.
God as a “Watchmaker”—who wound the watch up and let it run…this was called deism.
During this exciting time, some tried a greater commitment to religion. In
England, Handel wrote his great Messiah…
and John Wesley founded the
Methodists. He preached in
America. This religious agitation
was part of the Great Awakening.
The elite in society were not part of these upsets—they aligned themselves with the official churches: Anglican,
Lutheran or Catholic.
The Masons were very popular among all walks of life. Even though they were a “secret” society, they met to discuss many
enlightenment concepts.
The salons were legendary…intelligent women provided a setting for the philosophes to meet
and discuss the challenges of the day.
Condorcet and “Progress”
• Marquis de Condorcet- “Progress of the Human Mind”– Traced development of human
history through nine eras, contending that in the 10th era peace, virtue and justice would prevail
John Locke (1632-1704)Knowledge from experience
• Provided a vigorous defense of England’s Glorious Revolution of 1688
• “Essays Concerning Human Understanding” – Tabula Rasa
John Locke (1632-1704)Social Contract and Natural Rights
• “Second Treatise of Government”
• SOCIAL CONTRACT THEORY– Mutual Consent– Life, Liberty and Property– Right to Rebel– Constitutional Government
Social Contract
Thomas Hobbes John Locke• Humans are naturally
cruel, greedy and selfish.• To escape this “brutish”
life people entered into a social contract.• Only a powerful
government could ensure an orderly society.• Believed only an absolute
monarchy could keep a society completely orderly.
• Humans are naturally reasonable, moral and good• Humans have natural
rights: life liberty and property• People form governments
to protect natural rights• Best government was one
with limited power• If a government violates
people’s natural rights, people have the right to overthrow government
The goal of the Encyclopedia was to make available all the current up-to-
date technological, cultural, and philosophical knowledge of the day.
It was unique because it was purchased by people from all over Europe. Even
small towns had at least one copy.
The information was shared, improved upon, and widely discussed: People were enlightened by its knowledge.
As a young man he spent time in the Bastille for his criticism of Louis XV’s
regent, the Duke of Orleans.
He was a courtier of Madame de Pompadour, Louis XV and spent two years in Frederick the Great’s court.
One of his most famous quotes about religion was “Ecrasez l’infame!” which translated means “crush the infamous
thing.” He was referring to the Catholic church.
His most famous case was the Calas case.
Calas was a Protestant who was accused of killing his mentally ill son, who was converting to be a Catholic.
In reality, the son had committed suicide.The local authorities (the local parlement) ordered that Calas be
executed.
Voltaire was excited about the case, and saw
it as a very public chance to exonerate, and publicize the injustices
inherent in France. Treatise on Tolerance
(1763)
The Calas family was fully vindicated. This was a victory for liberty and a
blow against injustice.
This victory was the talk of Europe, and Voltaire was on the lips of all who
loved freedom.
As an aristocrat, Voltaire was a believer in liberty—for “his kind”—that is the enlightened classes.
He didn’t think that the common folk..those of lower class origin, were the ones that should be ruling France.
Montesquieu (1689-1755)
He developed important ideas that have a direct bearing on our American Society:
His revolutionary idea was the
separation and balance of powers.
Power should be divided between the
King and the People. He admired the English
constitution.
• Montesquieu’s ideas greatly influenced the founding fathers. They incorporated the idea of separation of powers into the constitution. Montesquieu is the “unknown” father of our country.
Unlike Voltaire, Rosseau did not come from the
upper classes. He was neglected as a child, a runaway at 16, and was largely self-
taught.
The contract was among the people themselves. This contract was the
General Will. Individuals, though they
had their own liberty, must surrender to the
liberty of the masses—the General Will.
This idea would be exploited in the French Revolution, to justify the use of widespread executions. It was the “General Will” that
such atrocities happen.
Both totalitarians (dictators) and democrats have said that Rousseau’s General Will was
part of their ideology.
His novels were widely read. They fostered a love of common things, common people. He
said that women should nurse their own babies, and that people should clothe themselves in
natural, loose clothing.
Voltaire thought Rousseau to be a joke—he said “After I’ve read Rousseau, I feel like I
have to get down on all fours.”
Some, like the French Queen Marie Antoinette, built fake “peasant’ villages where they could
play like they were a milk maid!
Economic Thought/Theorgy
• Physiocrats=economic philospophes– “Laissez-Faire, laissez passer” (Let do, let pass)
Economic Thought/Theorgy
• Francois Quesnay (1694-1774)– Leading French Physiocrat
• Adam Smith (1723-1790)– Scottish economist– “Wealth of Nations” (1776)
• Free market/ “Invisible Hand”
The objectives of this slide show were:
• In what ways was the enlightenment and outgrowth of the Scientific Revolution?
• What were some of the new fads of thought that also occurred during the enlightenment?
• Indentify the importance of the Encyclopedia• Assess the importance of Montesquieu on the American
Revolution.• You will know the main targets of the criticisms of
Voltaire and Rousseau.• You will learn how the Callas case was a case for the
freedom of all mankind against despotic government.
BIG PICTURE• Thinkers of the Enlightenment proposed a broad
program for the reform of government and society.
• Although they often tended to oversimplify human nature and to exaggerate the supremacy of reason in human affairs, they offered forthright and often courageous criticisms of the inadequacies of the Old Regime.
• Ideas changed thought and action of the makers of the American and French Revolutions and on advocates of reform generally in the Western World.
Heritage of the Enlightenment
• Today the Enlightenment is often viewed as a historical anomaly – a brief moment when a number of thinkers infatuated with reason vainly supposed that the perfect society could be built on common sense and tolerance, a fantasy which collapsed amid the Terror of the French Revolution and the triumphal sweep of Romanticism.
Heritage of the Enlightenment (2)
• Religious thinkers repeatedly proclaim the Enlightenment dead.
• Marxists denounce it for promoting the ideals and power of the bourgeoisie at the expense of the working classes.
• Postcolonial critics reject its idealization of specifically European notions as universal truths.