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The enlightenment and the American Revolution. 1700-1800. The enlightenment. (5-1) I. Philosophy in the Age of Reason A) Scientific Revolution Sparks the Enlightenment B) Hobbs & Locke have conflicting views C) Philosophes (fee loh ZOHFS) D) New Economic Thinking
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The enlightenment (5-1) I. Philosophy in the Age of Reason A) Scientific Revolution Sparks the Enlightenment B) Hobbs & Locke have conflicting views C) Philosophes (fee loh ZOHFS) D) New Economic Thinking Adam Smith’s Law of Supply & Demand
The enlightenment New ideas in government and politics People began questioning the need for all powerful Kings Can people choose leaders for themselves? “All people are created equal” New (and potentially dangerous) concept – Dangerous to who?
Prior to this time KING God people
Suddenly it became God KING people The shift from the idea of Divine Right of Kings to the Social Contract Theory was influenced by the Enlightened Philosophers.
What is philosophy? Philosophy is the love of, or the search for, wisdom or knowledge • The Philosophes (fee loh ZOHFS) were a group of enlightened thinkers in France who applied the methods of science to understand and improve society. SEEKING & STUDYING WISDOM • They believed that the use of reason could lead to reforms of government, law, and society.
Enlightenment salon – Madame geoffrinsocial conversation over coffee and tea
Madame Geoffrin’s Paris salon • SEEKING & STUDYING WISDOM Today, where do people go to exchange ideas, debate, and chat? Enlightenment ideas – what did they mean? It was all about government and the role in played in people’s lives.
How did philosophes help to create new assumptions about the use of power?
Scientific Revolution Sparks the Enlightenment In the wake of the Scientific Revolution came the Enlightenment. This was an era in which people used reason to try to understand more about human behavior and solve the problems of society. Hobbes and Locke Had Conflicting Views English philosophers Thomas Hobbes and John Locke both wrote about society and the ideal form of governing it. Hobbes thought people needed strict control to rein in their naturally brutish tendencies. Locke thought people were moral at heart and were entitled to certain natural rights, which governments were obliged to protect.
The matter, forme, & Power of a commonwealth Thomas hobbes Observation: people are generally bad Life without a strong government is “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” Hypothesis: Absolute government is needed to control evil behavior
Two Treatises of government John Locke Observation: government exists to: “preserve life, liberty, and property.” People had certain “natural rights” or rights that belonged to all humans from birth Hypothesis: People should be sovereign (rule) Hypothesis: Monarch not chosen by God
What were they thinking? They did not always agree with one another!
New economic thinking Economists also applied reason to their study of economics during the Enlightenment. Adam Smith and a group of French thinkers called physiocrats urged economies that operated with little government control.
Physiocratsvs the mercantilists • Mercantilists • Favored government regulation • Believed in building wealth through trade • Physiocrats (Adam Smith & friends) • Opposed government regulation • Believed in building wealth through land productivity
Immanuel kant • “Enlightenment is man’s leaving his self-caused immaturity. Immaturity is the incapacity to use one’s intelligence without the guidance of another. Such immaturity is self-caused if it is not caused by lack of intelligence, but by lack of determination and courage to use one’s intelligence without being guided by another. SapereAude! [Dare to know!] Have the courage to use your own intelligence! is therefore the motto of the enlightenment.”
The spirit of laws Baron de Montesquieu • (MAHN tuskyoo) Observation: The best way to protect liberty was to divide the various functions and powers of the government among three branches Each branch of government should be able to serve as a check on the other two
Where have you seen this before? • Montesquieu (MAHN tuskyoo)
Montesquieu influenced the U.S. Constitution The Constitution sets up three branches of Government, just as Montesquieu recommended.
“My trade is to say what I think” Francois-mariearouet (Voltaire) Criticized powerful institutions for being unjust Targeted corrupt officials and idle aristocrats Supported freedom of speech Imprisoned and forced into exile, books outlawed and burned “I disapprove of what you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it”
What was Voltaire’s opinion on the relationship between religion and the government? There should be “separation of church and state”
The social contract Jean-Jacques rousseau Despised political and economic oppression People in their natural state were basically good Their natural innocence was corrupted by the evils of society, making it restrictive Advocated the will of the majority and the common good
What does Rousseau say should happen if this contract is broken by the rulers?
Rousseau voltaire Trusted aristocrats Loved the theater Courted the aristocrats Wary of revolution Equality was impossible Charmed with his wit Insisted on the supremacy of the intellect Endlessly repeated the same handful of core Enlightenment notions • Distrusted aristocrats because he believed they were betraying decent traditional values • Opposed the theater • Shunned the aristocracy • Argued for democratic revolution • Argued that inequality was unnatural, and when taken too far, made decent government impossible • Insisted on his correctness, even while contradicting himself • Free with original thoughts in all directions: ideas about education, the family, government, the arts, and whatever else attracted his attention
What were the effects of the enlightenment? (Use AN acronym) • F.A.S.T. F. Fueled democratic revolutions around world (American, French) Signing of the Declaration of Independence July 4, 1776 Bastille: The French Revolution begins July 14, 1789
The enlightenment (5-2) II. Enlightenment Ideas Spread A) New ideas challenge society B) Arts and literature reflect new meanings C) Enlightened despots embrace new ideas D) Lives of the majority change slowly
New Ideas Challenge Society While churches and monarchies tried to stop the flow of Enlightenment ideas through censorship, Enlightenment thinkers found new ways of spreading their ideas, such as through novels and salons. Arts and Literature Reflect New Ideas The Enlightenment saw the birth of new styles in art, music, and literature. Painters embraced the lighter and more informal rococo style; composers, too, moved away from the baroque and into rococo and classical music. This was evidenced in the works of Handel, Haydn, and Mozart. In literature, the novel was king as audiences devoured long stories about their own times.
"Reading from Moliere," artist Jean Francois de Troy depicts a salon of the French Enlightenment.
"A Philosopher lecturing with a Mechanical Planetary" by Joseph Wright, 1766
George Frideric Handel New ideas reflected in Music • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart • Franz joseph hayden
What new form of literature evolved during the Age of Enlightenment? The novel This is how philosophesand writers avoided censorship… disguising ideas in works of fiction
What was significant about Don Quixote? It was the first novel (fiction-- not a true story) Cervantes was from Spain
It was a story about an idiotic knight--the book made fun of knights and the middle ages
Enlightened Despots Embrace New Ideas Some absolute rulers of the time adopted limited reforms inspired by Enlightenment ideas. For instance Frederick II of Prussia, Catherine the Great of Russia, and Joseph II of Austria all showed religious tolerance. Still the monarchs were not willing to share their power. Lives of the Majority Change Slowly It wasn’t until the late 1700s that Enlightenment ideas spread through Europe’s peasant classes. In time, these ideas, in combination with war and economic troubles, would bring the masses to revolt.
