Introducing The Enlightenment

Introducing The EnlightenmentIs Perfectibility of Society an Elusive Goal?

“The Great Debate”LOGIC & REASON v. TRADITIONS, IDEOLOGY, &

SUPERSTITION

Rationalism Nostalgia for the pastEmpiricism Organized religionTolerance Irrationalism

Emotionalism

Modern TimesIn polls given by Ekos in Canada (March 2011) and Gallop in the United States (December 2010), respondents were asked: “which of the following statements comes closest to your point of view?”

1. Humans were created by God in the last 10,000 years:• Canadians 14%• Americans 40%

Modern Times2. Humans evolved over time, but through divine guidance:

• Canadians 19%• Americans 38%

3. Humans evolved through natural selection:• Canadians 58%• American 16%

Enlightenment BasicsThe Enlightenment began around 1650 and it carried through the eighteenth century.

It was a cultural movement of intellectuals in eighteenth century Europe and America. Its purpose was to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted science and intellectual interchange and opposed superstition, intolerance and abuses by church and state.

The Enlightenment was articulated by a relatively small number of thinkers and writers primarily in western Europe. Their work and thoughts set the stage for much of our thinking today about personal freedoms and the reform of existing conditions and institutions.

Enlightenment BasicsAlthough the seeds for many of the Enlightenment’s ideas can be found in the moderate political and social atmosphere of England, France was the hotbed of the movement.

“Enlightenment Principles”

Tolerance, humanity, and reason

For example, humanity meant we no longer take someone suspected of having committed a crime and torture them inhumanly until, half out of their wits, they say what we want

Diseases are no longer fought by superstitious means, but through cleanliness and scientific means

Enlightenment DefinedIntellectuals are people who make public issues matter, began to gain prominence

They exalted freedom of thought and debate over obedience to tradition and belief

Philosophers: praised the action of the free market

espoused the need for public education, the abolition of slavery and the more humane treatment of criminals

Sign Here PleaseIn 1680s, the proportion of people who could sign their own name in France was:

• 29 % for men• 14% for women

In the 1780s, the proportion of people who could sign their own name in France was:

• 47 % for men• 27 % for women

In Paris by 1789, the rate was:• 90% for men• 80% for women

Literacy and Book Production

DISCUSS: Does a population need an education beyond what is required to do its job?

• During the Reformation, government advisers became convinced that a literate population was an advantage

• Portugal established primary schools across the country in 1759

• The invention of movable type made it possible to produce many copies of the same text

Reading During The Enlightenment

Literacy Rate:80% for men; 60 % women

• Books were expensive. They cost around one day’s wages• Readers shared books, at a ratio of 20:1

An Increase in ReadingLiteracy Rates: French and German States

Literacy in Urban France:• 1683: 51%• 1770: 60%

Literacy in Rural Normandy:• Late Seventeenth Century: Males 37%

Females 7%• Late Eighteenth Century: Males 73%

Females 46%

Literacy in German States• Circa 1500: 3-4%• Circa 1800: 50% Males 50-66% Females 33-50%

Source: J. Merriman. A History of Europe: From the Renaissance to the Age of Napoleon. (New York: W.W. Norton. 1996)

Denis Diderot (1713-1784)

Diderot was born on October 5th, 1713. His father was a cutler. In 1732, Diderot earned a master’s degree in philosophy. After a short period of time studying law, hedecided to become a writer.

In 1742, Diderot befriended Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

Although his work was well-known and broad in scale, it never brought Diderot riches

EncyclopédieEncyclopédie was a general encyclopedia published in France between 1751 and 1772.

Encyclopédie is famous above all for representing the thought of the Enlightenment. According to Denis Diderot, the Encyclopédie's aim was "to change the way people think.” He wanted to incorporate all of the world's knowledge into the Encyclopédie and hoped that the text can disseminate all this information to the public and to future generations.

The work comprised 28 volumes, with 71,818 articles and 3,129 illustrations.

Pages From Encyclopédie

Deism as Rational Religion

Deists believed that God did not participate directly in human affairs, but rather that God created the universe and then let it run

Deism permitted criticism of particular rituals but retained the idea of a supreme, divine moral power in the universe

What is a Salon?The salon was an Italian invention of the sixteenth century which flourished in France throughout The Enlightenment.

A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine taste and increase their knowledge of the participants through conversation. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "either to please or to educate"

The Role of The Salon• Wealthy individuals held literary and philosophical discussion

groups in their homes, where writers and intellectuals could present and exchange ideas

• They provided a sheltered outlet for views that were condemned by the courts of Europe

• Salons promoted social equality; class and origin were less important than ideas

Enlightened DespotismThese rulers were students of a new science of good government designed to mobilize human and material resources in the interests of the welfare of the people and the power of the state.

Frederick II Frederick II was King of Prussia from May 31st 1740 to 17 August 17th 1786. He was also known as “Frederick the Great”

He granted complete religious –“here everyone can seek salvation in the manner that seems best to him” toleration, freedom of the press, and enforced general educational reform

Frederick believed a monarch is an absolute ruler, but acts with reason:

… the role of the sovereign is to maintain peace and preserve the nobility, and to have a well-conducted government whose actions are well reasoned and whose purpose it is to strengthen the state and further its power…

Describe The Image

Benjamin RobinsBenjamin Robins was born in 1707. His parents were Quakers. After studying mathematics, Benjamin became fascinated by artillery and fortification.

He identified the impact air resistance would have on the trajectories of high-speed projectiles

Therefore, bullets should be egg-shaped and gun barrels rifled

As Niall Ferguson notes, the “killer app of science” gave “The West” truly lethal weapons: accurate artillery

Frederick’s Thoughts“… we are now fighting against something more than men. We must get it into our heads that the kind of war we shall be waging from now on will be a question of artillery duels. “

Catherine The GreatCatherine II was “Empress and Autocrat of all the Russias”. She was crowned on July 9th, 1762.

Catherine became Czarina of Russia through her marriage at the age of fifteen to the future heir, Peter III. Unintelligent and unstable, Peter would merely provide the avenue to power for the ambitious Catherine, for while she loved the throne, she did not love Peter.

His mysterious disappearance shortly after their marriage was most likely orchestrated by one of Catherine’s lovers, Gregory Orlov.

Reformer? Or Despot?Added 518 000 square kilometers to the Russian EmpireEstablished the first college of medicine to train doctors and surgeonsDecreed in 1775 that each Russian province have a hospitalAppointed an educated, able woman Director of the Academy of ScienceInstituted free public education, including for girls and serfsDoubled the number of civil servants: firefighters, mapmakers, builders, managers of orphans and prisonsProvided money to farmers to buy machinery and learn new agricultural techniquesEncouraged immigrationNever liberated the millions of serfs in RussiaRuled Russia as a traditional monarch

Catherine The GreatUnder the philosophical guidance of individuals like Voltaire and Diderot, Catherine’s goal was to modernize her vast Empire for the benefit of her subjects.

Nicknamed “the light of the North” by Voltaire, it was Catherine’s single-minded purpose to pull Russia from the fringes of European politics and culture. By the time of her death in 1796, Russia had entered the era as a dominant player in the West, and Catherine gained the title “The Great”.