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Age and Beliefs of the Enlightenment

Age and Beliefs of the Enlightenment . J. Schwartz English III- Fall 2013 Thanks to D. Pogreba. What is the Enlightenment?. European philosophical movement that took root in the Americas (1650-1815). Period of experimentation.

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Age and Beliefs of the Enlightenment

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  1. Age and Beliefs of the Enlightenment J. Schwartz English III- Fall 2013 Thanks to D. Pogreba

  2. What is the Enlightenment? • European philosophical movement that took root in the Americas (1650-1815). • Period of experimentation. • Also called the Age of Reason. The capacity of the brain is most important. • Rationalism: the belief that humans can find truth using reason. • Period of increased emphasis on the development of the nation-state and the rights of humans.

  3. Seven Big Principles of Enlightenment Thinking • Emergence of Natural Law • Any system of law which is purportedly determined by nature, and thus universal. • Natural law refers to the use of reason to analyze human nature and deduce binding rules of moral behavior.

  4. Seven Big Principles of Enlightenment Thinking 2. Emergence of the natural rights of humans • Rights are natural and unalienable. John Locke outlined three natural rights • LIFE- Everyone is entitled to live once they are created. • LIBERTY- Everyone is entitled to do anything they want so long as it doesn’t conflict with the first right • PROPERTY- Everyone is entitled to own all they create or gain through give or trade so long as it doesn’t conflict with the first two rights.

  5. Seven Big Principles of Enlightenment Thinking 3. Belief in the potential of unending progress in humans • Again, Rationalism comes into play. If humans can find truth using reason, then they can manipulate the universe and human life to an unending degree.

  6. Seven Big Principles of Enlightenment Thinking 4. Assault on traditional authority • Human experience is the foundation of truth. Authority should not be preferred over experience.

  7. Seven Big Principles of Enlightenment Thinking 5. Empiricism (Experimentation and Testing) • Enlightenment thinkers experimented in many ways • Politically • Socially • Scientifically

  8. Seven Big Principles of Enlightenment Thinking 6. Deism • Religious doctrines have no place in answering the fundamental questions about the human and the natural world. • The belief that God was not personally involved in the day-to-day lives of people of Earth. • God had created an orderly world, and having given man the gift of reason, needed only to indirectly oversee the regulation of the world.

  9. Seven Big Principles of Enlightenment Thinking 7. Humanitarianism • An emerging belief in helping those less fortunate

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