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Chapter 17

Chapter 17. The Eighteenth Century: An Age of Enlightenment. The Enlightenment. Popularization of Science Bernard de Fontenelle (1657 – 1757), Plurality of Worlds He was a skeptic who portrayed the church as an enemy of scientific progress

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Chapter 17

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  1. Chapter 17 The Eighteenth Century: An Age of Enlightenment

  2. The Enlightenment • Popularization of Science • Bernard de Fontenelle (1657 – 1757), Plurality of Worlds • He was a skeptic who portrayed the church as an enemy of scientific progress • Provided a link between scientists of the 17th century & philosophes of the 18th century • Enlightenment thinkers used the scientific method to analyze & understand all aspects of human life • German philosopher Immanuel Kant came up with a motto for the Enlightenment – Sapere Aude! • “Dare to know! Have the courage to use your own intelligence!”

  3. Paths to Enlightenment • A New Skepticism • Attacked superstition, religious intolerance, and dogmatism • Skepticism about religion and growing secularization • Travel reports & comparative studies of old & new world cultures fueled skepticism • Pierre Bayle (1647 – 1706) • Protestant living in Louis the XIV’s France • Argued for complete religious toleration

  4. The Impact of Travel Literature • Travel books became very popular • Captain James Cook, Travels • Idea of “noble savage” • Some Europeans fealt the Tahitian was far more happy with his simple life • Literature on China • Many European scholars studied Confucian morality • Cultural relativism • the concept that the importance of a particular cultural idea varies from one society or societal subgroup to another, the view that ethical and moral standards are relative to what a particular society or culture believes to be right or wrong

  5. The Legacy of Locke & Newton • Newton • Natural Reason could discover natural laws that govern politics, economics justice, religion, and the arts • Locke, Essay Concerning Human Understanding • Knowledge derived from the environment • Denied Descartes’ belief in innate ideas • Instead believed people were born with a tabula rasa (a blank mind) • Both Thinkers provided inspiration for the Enlightenment

  6. The Philosophes and their Ideas • Came from all walks of life • Mostly nobility & the middle class • Paris was the “capital” of the Enlightenment • Desire to change the world • Call for a spirit of rational criticism • 3 French Giants: Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Diderot

  7. Map 17.1: The Age of Enlightenment in Europe

  8. Montesquieu and Political Thought • Charles de Secondat, baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755) • Persian Letters, 1721 • Attacks traditional religion, advocacy of religious toleration, denunciation of slavery, use of reason • The Spirit of the Laws, 1748; comparative study of government • Montesquieu attempted to apply the scientific method to the social & political arena to develop natural laws governing social relationships • Advocated a separation of powers between branches of the government (based on English model)

  9. Voltaire and the Enlightenment • Francois-Marie Arouet, Voltaire (1694-1778) • Criticism of Traditional Religion • Philosophic Letters on the English, 1733 • Treatise on Toleration, 1763 • Deism

  10. Diderot and the Encyclopedia • Denis Diderot (1713-1784) • Encyclopedia, 28 volumes • Attacked religious superstition and advocated toleration • Lowered price helped to spread the ideas of the Enlightenment

  11. The New “Science of Man” • David Hume (1711 – 1776) • Treatise on Human Nature • Physiocrats • François Quesnay (1694-1774) • Leader of the Physiocrat – natural economic laws • Rejection of mercantilism • Supply and demand

  12. Adam Smith & Laissez-Faire Economics • Adam Smith (1723-1790) • The Wealth of Nations, 1776 • Attack on mercantilism • Advocate of free trade • Government has only three basic functions • Protect society from invasion • Defend individuals from injustice and oppression • Keep up public works

  13. The Later Enlightenment • Baron Paul d’Holbach (1723 – 1789) • System of Nature, 1770 • Marie-Jean de Condorcet (1743 – 1794) • The Progress of the Human Mind

  14. Rousseau and the Social Contract • Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) • Discourse on the Origins of the Inequality of Mankind; preservation of private property had enslaved the mass of society • Social Contract, 1762; Tried to harmonize individual liberty with governmental authority • Concept of General Will • Emile, 1762; important work on education • Major influence on the development of Romanticism

  15. The “Woman’s Question” in the Enlightenment • Most philosophes agreed that the nature of women make them inferior • Mary Astell (1666-1731) • A Serious Proposal to the Ladies, 1697 • Better education and equality in marriage • Mary Wollstonecraft • Vindication of the Rights of Woman, 1792 • Subjection of women by men wrong

  16. Social Environment of the Philosophes • Salons • The Influence of Women • Marie-Thérèse de Geoffrin (1699 – 1777) • Marquise du Deffand (1697 – 1780) • Other social centers of the Enlightenment: coffeehouses, cafes, clubs, libraries, societies

  17. Innovations in Art • Rococo Art • Antoine Watteau (1684-1721) • Fragility and transitory nature of pleasure, love, and life • Baroque-Rococo architectural style • Balthasar Neumann (1687-1753) • Secular and spiritual interchangeable • Continuing Popularity of Neoclassicism

  18. Innovations in Music and Literature • Baroque Music • Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) • George Frederick Handel (1685-1759) • Franz Joseph Haydn (1756-1809) • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) • The Development of the Novel • Samuel Richardson (1689 – 1761) • Henry Fielding (1707 – 1754) • The Writing of History • A broader scope • Weakness of philosophe-historians

  19. The High Culture of the Eighteenth Century • High Culture Versus Popular Culture • Expansion of Publishing and Reading Public • Development of magazines and newspapers for the general public • Education and Universities • Secondary schools • Curriculum

  20. Crime and Punishment • Punishment in the Eighteenth Century • Cesare Beccaria (1738-1794), On Crimes and Punishments • Punishment should serve only as deterrent • Punishment moved away from spectacle towards rehabilitation

  21. The World of Medicine • Hierarchy of Practitioners • Physicians • Surgeons • Apothecaries • Midwives • Faith healers

  22. Popular Culture • Nature of Popular Culture • Collective and public • Carnival • Indulgence and release • Taverns and Alcohol • Community centers • Cheap alcohol • Literacy and Primary Education • Chapbooks • Literacy rates • Primary education

  23. Religion and the Churches • The Institutional Church • Conservative nature of mainstream churches • Church-state relations • “Nationalization” of the Catholic church • Toleration and Religious Minorities • Toleration and the Jews • Experiences of Ashkenazic Jews • Experiences of Sephardic Jews • Some Enlightenment thinkers favored acceptance of the Jews • Joseph II • Limited reforms toward the Jews

  24. Map 17.2: Religious Populations of Eighteenth-Century Europe

  25. Popular Religion in the Eighteenth Century • Catholic Piety • Centrality of the local parish • Popular devotion • Protestant Revivalism • Pietism • John Wesley (1703-1791) • Methodist societies

  26. Discussion Questions • Why was France the epicenter of the Enlightenment? • Why did it emerge when it did? • What were the social consequences, if any, of the Enlightenment? • How did the Enlightenment shape ideas about crime and punishment? • Did Europe become a more secular society over the course of the eighteenth century? If so, why?

  27. Web Links • The European Enlightenment • Internet Sourcebook: The Enlightenment • The Encyclopedia of Diderot and d’Alembert • Mary Wollstonecraft • Creating French Culture • Eighteenth-Century Resources: Science and Mathematics

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