The Enlightenment and the Dynamic 18 th Century

The Enlightenment and the Dynamic 18th Century Immanuel Kant (Philosopher) stated “we live in the age of Enlightenment but not an enlightened age”

For the Ap exam • This is a very important topic in the AP exam and comes up often on the AP test • 1 How does this thinker / book / topic reflect the principles of Enlightenment thought? • 2 To what degree was this area of life (medicine, education, law) changed to fall in line with Enlightenment principles. • 18th century was a time of significant reform and a questioning of established traditions. There was an optimism pointing toward progress. However there was a great lag in the areas of reason, equality, individualism, and secularism. • How did the previous section on the scientific view of the world help lead to this new era?

Elite and Popular culture • In early modern Europe elites and peasants partook in similar cultural experiences • This changed in the eighteenth century during the Enlightened era. • Growing division between the academic elite group on the poor illiterate peasant class • Elites read he latest novels, periodicals, and newspapers. • Elites meet and talked in SALONS, coffeehouses, reading clubs and libraries • Elites gained an appreciation for scientific knowledge and secular learning • Peasants were confined to more oral traditions, symbolic imagery • So while it the era made significant impact in Europe it touched a relative few in society.

Elite and Popular culture • The Reading Public • Huge increase in print – Newspapers, books etc. • Increased literacy created demand and availability • Improved primary education • By 1780 most cities supported a daily or weekly newspaper • Many aristocrats invested in the purchase of the scientific accounts, historical and philosophical works • Novel were the biggest seller of the day • Some themes revolved around the CULTU OF SENTIMENT: belief that open emotional displays equated with sincerity and humanitarian impulse elevated society by sustaining reforms

Elite and Popular culture • The Reading Public • Government did some censorship that was deemed threatening to public order or blasphemous to organized religion • Censorship rarely worked in the long run due to the availability of printing presses and the decentralization of intellectual life– People could meet and discuss these issues at will • Why was this increase in reading material so important? • PUBLIC OPINION • Could the American and French revolutions occur without the political energy generated be a READING public who was informed and concerned about politics?

Elite and Popular culture • Education • Mostly for the wealthy alone and in particular men • Secondary schools in particular taught the classics and was of little use for the lower class • Universities were slow to change an adapt to the advancements learned in the Scientific period

Elite and Popular culture • Art and Music • Baroque continues by in by the 1720’s the ROCOCO style emerges (especially in France • What were characteristics of Baroque in the age of absolutism? • Power, illusion, and movement– Opera, art of Kings and Popes • Rococo focused on lighthearted and passive themes of romance and the transitory nature of life

Elite and Popular culture • Crime and Punishment • Government of the 18th century lacked modern police forces and prisons. • Public executions • This trend was changed when the concept that “reason and certainty of punishment (not its severity) should act as guides to law and the prison system” written in the book ON CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS (1762) • Previous system created a fear of punishment and power rather than respect for the law • United States established a prison system built on rehabilitation through discipline and Europe looked to solidify it legal system

Elite and Popular culture • Medicine • Most medical care remained inadequate and based on folk remedies • Life expectance remained relatively low with gradual gains in urban areas through increased hygiene and the start of VACCINATIONS(smallpox 1770) • To improve training Britain established the Royal College of Physicians (Later surgeons broke away and established their own college) • These PROFFESIONAL groups aimed to exclude midwives and folk healers.

Elite and Popular culture • Religious revival in a Secular Age • Enlightenment philosophies hoped to improve society through a secular and scientific view of the world • Many groups fought against this process. A common AP mistake is to overstate the degree which this era effected the common person • Movements against included • John Wesley’s METHODISM in England • Directly appealed to the lower class

Elite and Popular culture • Religious revival in a Secular Age • Enlightened monarchs approached religious matters with skepticism and tried to create a barrier between private belief and public expression of religious practices • Monarchs began extending religious tolerance • Joseph II of Austria even granted toleration of Jews (although as a group they still suffered greatly in Europe)

Elite and Popular culture • Popular culture and Leisure • Books were common for the wealthy • Short books (24 pages) called CHAPBOOKS were popular lower classes • Carnival celebrations played an important role in the cycle of seasonal work. • Dinking was common and the lower class turned to stronger drinks like gin and whiskey in taverns (“drunk for a penny, dead drink for 2) • Alcoholism became a major social issue for the first time • BLOODSPORTS – Bare-knuckle fights, cockfighting, bear baiting…

Enlightenment thought • Enlightenment took its cue from the Scientific Revolution of the 16 -17th centuries • Remember this definition for the era • An effort to apply the methods and principles of the Scientific Revolution to issues of political, economic and social reforms • Enlightenment thinkers believed the just as laws guided movements of planets and the workings of the human body– human reason could discover the laws of human affairs (law, politics and even religion)

Enlightenment thought • The Setting of the Enlightenment and the Role of Women • Paris was the hearth of the Enlightenment (flower) • French was the language of the enlightenment and much of this discourse occurred in the French Salons • Women ran these (called SALONNIERES) • Women participate in this discourse and even advocated for the equality of women • MARY WOOSTONECRADT (1759-1797) “Thoughts on the education of daughters” • The middle class had their discussions in Coffee Houses • Freemason lodges for more “secretive societies” FREEMASONRY

Enlightenment thought • Philosophies and Their Ideals • Reason • Secularism • Equality • Progress

Enlightenment thought • Philosophies and Their Ideals • Reason • Belief human reason has the ability to discover the relevant law’s of nature and humanity. An optimism in the advance human understanding

Enlightenment thought • Philosophies and Their Ideals • Secularism • Not all were against religion or advocated atheism. Most believed that strict religious policies should not be put into public affairs • God should be viewed as the “Clockmaker” designed the world with scientific natural laws. • NATURAL RELIGION

Enlightenment thought • Philosophies and Their Ideals • Equality • Noted the inequality but that the masses could never be trusted to rule. Bettering the lower classes did not necessarily translate into support for democracy

Enlightenment thought • Philosophies and Their Ideals • Progress • This lay at the heart of the Enlightenment thought process • Benjamin Franklin “the pursuit of knowledge should ultimately yield practical benefits for humankind.”

Enlightenment thought • Key Figures in brief (you should review these and others of the era) • Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) • One of the most brilliant philosophers of the modern age • From Prussia and rarely ever left his homeland / Never married • Totally dedicated to creating a complete philosophy system

Enlightenment thought • Key Figures in brief (you should review these and others of the era) • Adam Smith, Scottish (1723-1790) • Laissez-Faire • Bible of Capitalism “Inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of nations” • 1. Labor is the ultimate source of value • 2. Government is to blunt to be involved in the market place • INVISIBLE HADN OF THE MARKETPLACE / Laws of SUPPLY AND DEMAND • 3. Free flow of goods / produce what you have a comparative advantage – Free trade • 4. DIVISION OF LABOR

Enlightenment thought • The LATER ENLIGHTENMENT • After 1760 some people believed this era became more radical • JEAN-JACQUES ROUSSEAU is often associated with this more radical period • Came from lower middle class. Neglected as a child found patronage among older women and eventually married a barmaid and had 5 children (later abandoned) • NOBLE SAVAGES: no need for reason as instinct and emotion more reliably produce happiness • THE SOCIAL CONTRACT: the general will of the entire society could be realized through a pursuit of the common good

Review Questions • What does Enlightenment mean? • What does Secularism mean? • How did the Scientific Revolution help with the Enlightenment movement? • Where did the Enlightenment really take hold and who was most influenced by this movement? • What did the following people contribute to the Enlightenment movement • 1. Kant 2. ROUSSEAU 3. Adam Smith • How did the Enlightenment influence the American Revolution? • What effect did the enlightenment have on crime and punishment?

Enlightenment thought • ENLIGHTENED DESPOTISM • Monarchs recognized the potential of Enlightenment methods for rational ordering of the state. However their focus remained on the realities of power • Three clear leaders in this • 1. PRUSSIA and FREDRICK II “THE GREAT” (1740-1786) • 2. AUSTRIA and JOSEPH II (1780-1790) • 3. RUSSIA and CATHERINE II (1762-1796)

Enlightenment thought • ENLIGHTENED DESPOTISM • 1. PRUSSIA and FREDRICK II “THE GREAT” (1740-1786) • Established the greatness of Prussia through its military • Practice religious tolerance with the acceptance of persecuted French Calvinists • While Louis XIV said “I am the State” Fredrick believed himself to be the “Servant of the State” • However, his policies did not allow for social mobility and favored the Junker nobility • Drew his diverse lands closer together under a centralized system of laws

Enlightenment thought • ENLIGHTENED DESPOTISM • 2. AUSTRIA and JOSEPH II (1780-1790) • Of all rulers most upheld the principles of Enlightenment • Perused reform systematically and was genuinely concerned with the plight of the lower class. • Abolished serfdom, granted religious tolerance to minorities (EDICT ON TOLERATION 1781), liberty to the press and introduced legal equality • He was Catholic but demanded greater control over the Church in Austria • Spent money on Secular hospitals • He put much of himself into these reforms but much was soon overturned as they came too quickly and alienated too many

Enlightenment thought • ENLIGHTENED DESPOTISM • 3. RUSSIA and CATHERINE II (1762-1796) • The most famous and admired women of her era. Between Peter the Great’s death in 1725 and Catherine’s succession Russia was ruled by a series of weak rulers which allowed the nobility to resurrect their power • She made compromises of her Enlightened Principles in favor of political realities she faced • Established schools for girls and abolished torture and the death penalty • She did however allow serfdom to worsen and violently crushed the PUGACHEV REVOLT (1770’s) • Added more territory to Russian than any ruler in history defeating the Ottoman Empire and partitioning its neighbor Poland

Enlightenment thought • ENLIGHTENED DESPOTISM • The realities of Enlightened Despotism and the Partitions of Poland • Poland was stuck between three great empires: Russia, Austria, Prussia • Poland could not centralize power and therefore was absorbed by the others while keeping a balance of power in Eastern Europe • Most rulers when push came to shove viewed enlightened ideals as a tool to exercise power. Most rulers chose the path of power and compromised on ideals • They took enlightened reforms as far as they could so long as they did not jeopardize their hereditary dynasties

Enlightenment thought • The Proms of the Enlightenment– American Revolution • American Revolution spawns thoughts in Britain • Benjamin Franklin– Treaty of Paris that ended the War for American Independence • Thomas Jefferson– Declaration of Independence – Natural law, inalienable rights and right of revolution as well as religious tolerations • Thomas Paine– Commons Sense – Monarchies are unnatural / The Rights of Man– radical movement for equality and liberty

The Enlightenment and the Dynamic 18 th Century