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The Enlightenment & Enlightened Thinkers

Explore the Enlightenment, a period following the Scientific Revolution, where reason and logic were used to find societal truths. Learn about the characteristics of the Enlightenment, influential philosophers, salons, and the great debate. Discover the ideas of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Montesquieu, Voltaire, and more. This enlightening era shaped our understanding of politics, human rights, and societal progress.

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The Enlightenment & Enlightened Thinkers

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  1. The Enlightenment & Enlightened Thinkers Children of the Scientific Revolution

  2. The Enlightenment • Followed & built on the lessons of the Scientific Revolution (that Math and Science could find physical truths) • The Enlightenment was when people believed that one could find societal truths by using reason and logic.

  3. The Characteristics of the Enlightenment Rational - use reason to solve problems Secular - not atheist. Just not concerned with religion. Utlititarian - the greatest good for the greatest number Tolerance - no opinion is invalid due to irrational bias Freedom -one has to be free to think and discover Educate the Masses – who knows where knowledge lies Optimistic & Reform Based –Change the world!!!

  4. The Philosophe • Believe in CHANGE & PROGRESS • Students of society who analyzed & advanced reforms.

  5. Salons • Coffee houses where leading intellectuals met to discuss themes of day • Often hosted by women (Madame de Pompadour)

  6. Other Salonnieres Madame Geoffrin(1699-1777) MadameSuzanne Necker(1739-1794) MademoiselleJulie de Lespinasse(1732*-1776)

  7. The “Great Debate” TraditionsandSuperstitions Reason& Logic • rationalism • empiricism • tolerance • skepticism • Deism • nostalgia for the past • organized religions • irrationalism • emotionalism

  8. Thomas HobbesPRE-ENLIGHTENED THOUGHT • Leviathan • w/o Govn’t, life is “nasty, short and brutish” • Absolutism the best, keeps security • Social Contract

  9. Enter the Enlightenment - John Locke • People are good • Tabula Rasa (we are molded by experience) • Democracy • Natural Rights (from Natural Law) need to be protected by gov. • If not… REVOLUTION • Video Clip Two Treatises on Govn’t

  10. Charles de Secondat, The Baron de Montesquieu • Noble himself, feared absolutism and democracy alike. Liked English model • King = Executive Parliament= Leg Courts = Judicial • Checks & balances • Separation of power On the Spirit of the Laws

  11. Voltaire (Francois Marie Arouet) • Controversial defender of free speech • Attacked clergy, kings, politicians, nobles, etc • Sent to prison twice & exiled • 4 Corner – There should be a limit on Free Speech. “The Customs and Spirit of Nations” and “Candide”

  12. Voltaire’s Wisdom • Every man is guilty of all the good he didn’t do. • It is dangerous to be right when the gov. is wrong. • Love truth and pardon error. • Judge of a man by his questions rather than by his answers. • Men are equal; it is not birth, but virtue that makes the difference. • I may not agree with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.

  13. Hugo Grotius • If Natural Law is, there should be universal international laws • Foresaw ideas like the UN and the Geneva Convention • THOUGHTS???

  14. CesareBeccaria • Anti-death penalty & torture. • The state doesn’t have the right to take life • Torture may not always produce truth • Enlightened principles should guide justice • Rehabilitation & Reintegration On Crimes and Punishment

  15. William Penn • If Natural Law governs all & IF logic and reason can solve any issue… WAR & KILLING ARE ALWAYS WRONG • Killing does not determine who is right, just who is left • Developed Pacifism • 4 Corner Debate • The death penalty is wrong

  16. Jean Jacques Rousseau • The Consent of the Governed, the “general will”, is why government has power (direct democracy is the key). • People are good, society makes us bad • “Man is born free, yet everywhere he is in chains.” The Social Contract

  17. Mary Wollstonecraft A Vindication of the Rights of Women • Women should enjoy the same rights as men in intellectual areas • Men conspire to hold women down (due to smaller physical frames)

  18. Denis Diderot • Effort to find and classify EVERYTHING • If we are going to learn Natural Law, we need to know what’s out there first. The Book Was Banned!!!

  19. Pages from Diderot’s Encyclopedie

  20. Pages from Diderot’s Encyclopedie

  21. Pages from Diderot’s Encyclopedie

  22. Classical Art • Effort to reflect the Enlightenment by using simple geometric lines • LOOK AT THE BAROQUE TO CLASSICAL ART PRESENTATION

  23. The Enlightenment and Religion George Washington Benjamin FranklinThomas Jefferson James MadisonThomas Paine Ethan Allen James Monroe • Deism – God as the watchmaker • If we can figure out the machine, we can run it • Built w/ Math • Many founding fathers were deists, not Bible-believing Christians

  24. Enlightened Despots Joseph II of Austria Frederick the Great of Prussia Catherine the Great of Russia • Believed in applying Enlightenment ideals to their Governments • Desire to make life better for subjects... • End Serfdom • Religious Freedom • Free Speech / Press • End Torture "Everything for the people, nothing by the people."

  25. THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION & ENLIGHTENMENT

  26. Backlash Against The Enlightened • The Monarchs • Peasant rebellions scared monarchs, reassert authority • Slow pace of change angered peasants • Monarchs fear democracy Pugachev’s Rebellion in Russia

  27. Backlash in the Arts - Romanticism • An appeal to the emotional, wild and unrestrained • Bach (and Beethoven) • Pope (and Milton) • Moliere (and Racine)

  28. Immanuel kant • German philosopher • Reason can’t explain feelings, God or beauty

  29. Rousseau – Part Deux • Math, science and reason cannot account for emotions (love, jealousy, hate, etc) nor for God. • Enlightenment is lacking…

  30. The Rebirth of Religious Zeal • Faith and emotion are important paths to a personal God (not science & deism) • Moravians (Zinzendorf) & Methodists (Wesley) lead back to the Bible • Mysticism & Zeal emphasized in Pentacostalism

  31. “Irrational” Religious Zeal (Benny Hinn casting out demons from believers)

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