The Enlightenment

1. The Enlightenment 1689 to 1789

2. The Enlightenment • Applied reason to the human world, not just the natural world • Stimulated religious tolerance • Fueled democratic revolutions around the world

3. Four Principles of the Enlightenment-Philosophes • Reason: proof of beliefs. • Nature: The idea that natural law governed the affairs of men. • Progress: Society could be perfect through reason and science. • Liberty: Get rid of Absolutism and instill Democracy

4. Enlightenment Thinkers and Their Ideas • Thomas Hobbes: wrote Leviathan: He supported absolute monarchy • John Locke: wrote Two Treatises on Government. Idea that people are sovereign (can make decisions) and monarchs are to rule by consent of the governed, not be chosen by God

5. Enlightenment Thinkers and Their Ideas • Jean-Jacques Rousseau: wrote The Social Contract. Idea that government is a contract between rulers and the people. • Montesquieu: wrote The Spirit of the Law. Idea that the best form of government includes separation of powers between branches (example, executive, legislative and judicial)

6. Enlightenment Ideas and Thinkers • Voltaire: Wrote Candide. Believed in separation of Church and State

7. Mary Wollstonecraft • Wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Women • Believed women needed more education in order to rise to virtue and usefulness • Women should be nurses and involved in politics

8. Influence of the Enlightenment • Political philosophies of the Enlightenment fueled revolution in the Americas and in France • Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence used Enlightenment ideas • The Constitution of the United States of America and the American Bill of Rights incorporated Enlightenment ideas

9. Spread of the Enlightenment • Philosophes’ views often got them in trouble • 1700’s- Paris was cultural and intellectual capital of Europe • Young people from Europe and the Americas came to study and learn • Enlightenment ideas circulated

10. Salons • Wealthy women held Salons • Social gathering where philosophers, writers, artists, scientists and other great intellects met to discuss ideas and enjoy artistic performances

11. Diderot’s Encyclopedia • Madame Geoffrin helped finance project by a philosophe named Denis Diderot • Imagined large set of books where intellects would provide articles and essays • Diderot:created Encyclopedia of writings from Enlightenment thinkers • Salons and Encyclopedia allowed Enlightenment ideas to spread quickly

12. Art and Literature • Under influence of Enlightenment, styles began to change • Reflected emphasis of order and balance • Artists and architects worked in a simple and elegant style • Inspired by Greece and Rome • Late 1700’s: known as neoclassical (“new classical”)

13. Artists • Johann Sebastian Bach- Composer • Wofgang Amadeus Mozart- Composer • Eugene Delacroix- Painter • Miguel de Cervantes- Novelist

14. New forms of Art and Literature • Paintings depicted classical subjects, public events, natural scenes and living people (portraits) • New forms of literature evolved… example- the novel