According to the 18th Century philosopher Immanuel Kant, the
“motto” of the Enlightenment was “Sapere aude! Have courage to use your own intelligence!”
(Kant, “What Is Enlightenment?”
1784)
Immanuel Kant
The Enlightenment
The Enlightenment was an intellectual movement in Europe during the 18th century that led to a new world view.
What were the influences on the Enlightenment?
3
How did the Enlightenment affect common
citizens?
Hmmm
The Renaissance, Reformation, and Scientific Revolution all
contributed with new ways of thinking and looking at things.
Roots of Enlightenment Reformation
4
• Martin Luther challenged the Catholic Church’s authority and brought on the Protestant Reformation beginning in 1517.
The Scientific Revolution
The Enlightenment grew largely out of the new methods and discoveries achieved in the
Scientific Revolution
The equatorial armillary, used for navigation on ships
Francis Bacon and the Scientific Method
The scientific method
Observation and experimentation
Testable hypothesis
Sir Francis Bacon
Galileo Galilei1564-1642. Italian. Scientist.
Isaac Newton and the Scientific Method
Used the scientific method to make a range of discoveries
Newton’s achievements using the scientific method helped inspire Enlightenment thinkers
Enlightenment Principles
Religion, tradition, and superstition limited independent thought
Accept knowledge based on observation, logic, and reason, not on faith
Scientific and academic thought should be secular
A meeting of French Enlightenment thinkers
Roots of EnlightenmentScientific Revolution
10
You mean, You mean, I’m not the I’m not the center of center of
everything?everything?!!
Galileo facing the Roman Inquisition, apainting by Cristiano Banti, 1857
How did scientific progress promote trust in human reason?
Objectives
How did the social contract and separation of powers affect views on government?
How did new ideas affect society and the economy?
Identify the philosophies of major Enlightenment thinkers such as: John Locke, Baron de Montesquieu, Adam Smith.
Scientific Revolution Leads to Enlightenment
1500-1700: European scientists using reason to discover laws of natureVery successful: Planetary movements,
chemistry, vaccine for smallpox, etc.Early 1700’s: If people used reason to
find laws that governed the physical world, why not use reason to discover natural laws?Laws that govern human natureReformers begin studying human nature
and societal problems
Major Enlightenment Ideas
Every social, political and economic problem could be solved through the use of reason
Governments are created to secure an orderly society
Separation of powers is the best way to protect human liberties
All men are created “free and equal”A free market should be allowed to
regulate trade
René Descartes1596-1650. French. Philosopher & Mathematician
René Descartes• Descartes was a French scientist,
mathematician, and philosopher.
• Descartes emphasized human reasoning as the
best road to understanding.
• Like Bacon, Descartes also believed that truth was only found after a
long process of studying and investigation.
“I think, therefore I am”
Our Own Attempt at Skepticism....
René Descartes
Descartes Concludes:Cogito Ergo Sum (“I think, therefore I am”).Meditations on First Philosophy (1639).
The Cartesian Plane
A Mathematical Map of Reality
Enlightenment Thinkers
John Locke
Baron de Montesquieu
Voltaire
John Locke (1632–1704)
The “State of Nature”
Tabula rasa
Locke(continued)
Treatises of Government
Rights
Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679)
Applied rational analysis to the study of government
Attacked the concept of divine right, yet supported a strong monarchy
Believed that humans were basically driven by passions and needed to be kept in check by a powerful ruler
Social Contract
Thomas Hobbes John Locke•Humans are naturally
cruel, greedy and selfish.
•To escape this “brutish” life people entered into a social
contract.•Only a powerful
government could ensure an orderly
society.•Believed only an
absolute monarchy could keep a society completely orderly.
•Humans are naturally reasonable, moral and
good•Humans have natural rights: life liberty and
property•People form
governments to protect natural rights
•Best government was one with limited power
•If a government violates people’s
natural rights, people have the right to
overthrow government
The French Salon and the Philosophes
Madame de Pompadour
• Madame de Pompadour• Salons: gatherings for
aristocrats to discuss new theories and ideas
• Philosophes: French Enlightenment thinkers who attended the salons
Voltaire (1694–1778)
Most famous philosophe
Wrote plays, essays, poetry, philosophy, and books
Attacked the “relics” of the medieval social order
Championed social, political, and religious tolerance
The Encyclopédie
Major achievement of the philosophes
Begun in 1745; completed in 1765
Frontspiece to the Encyclopédie
The Encyclopédie (continued)
Denis Diderot and Jean Le Rond d’Alembert
Banned by the Catholic Church
Encyclopédie editor Denis Diderot
Deism
Deists believed in God but rejected organized religion
Morality could be achieved by following reason rather than the teachings of the church
Lord Edward Herbert of Cherbury, founder of deism
Deism (continued)
The “great watchmaker”
Thomas Paine
Jean-Jacques Rousseau(1712–1778)
Philosophized on the nature of society and government
The Social Contract
Baron de Montesquieu (1689–1755)
• French noble and political philosopher
• The Spirit of the Laws
Montesquieu (continued)
• Separation of powers
• Constitutional monarchy
Frontspiece to The Spirit of the Laws
Separation of Powers
Baron de Montesquieu: Criticized absolute monarchy and admired British government
British protected themselves from tyranny by dividing powers of government between three branches: legislative, executive and judicial (misconception)
Each branch of government should be
able to ‘check’ the other two
What government does this sound like?
Women and the Enlightenment
Changing views
Role of education
EqualityMary Wollstonecraft Olympe de Gouges
Mary Wollstonecraft
Declaration of the Rights of Man
A Vindication of the Rights of Women
Wollstonecraft (continued)
Education
Women’s rights movement
Title page of Wollstonecraft’s Thoughts on the
Education of Daughters
Olympe De Gouges
Criticized the French Revolution
The Rights of Women
“Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen”
Executed in 1793
“Enlightened Monarchs” Most of Europe ruled by
absolute monarchs Receptive to
Enlightenment ideas Instituted new laws and
practices
Enlightened Monarchs• Frederick II, Prussia
• Catherine the Great, Russia• Maria Theresa, Austria• Joseph II, Holy Roman
Empire• Gustav III, Sweden• Napoleon I, France
Enlightenment and the Economy
Physiocrats rejected mercantilism in favor of a policy called laissez-faire.
Physiocrats were Enlightenment
thinkers who focused on economic reforms
Laissez-Faire: allowing business to operate with little or no government interference
Real wealth comes from productive land not gold and silver
Supported free trade and opposed tariffs
Enlightenment and the Economy
Adam Smith: Free market should be allowed to regulate business activityManufacturing, trade, wages, profits and economic
growth are all linked to the market forces of supply and demand
Where there is demand, suppliers will seek to meet it because there are profits and economic rewards to be had
Smith supported laissez faire, but also believed that a government had a duty to protect society, administer justice, and provide public works.
His ideas lead to very productive economies during the Industrial Revolution (1800’s and 1900’s)
Supply and
Demand
Other Major Enlightenment Ideas for Society
Detested the slave trade and slavery
Deplored religious prejudice
Defended freedom of speech
Attacked divine right theory
Urged education for all
Hated unequal distribution of property
Believed governments should be freely elected
Women’s first duty was to her family
Enlightenment Changes Society
Women: Women were not equal and were criticized for attempting to gain equality
Salons: Men and women gather in living rooms to discuss Enlightenment ideas (chat rooms)
Music: Ballets and operas become popular (Bach, Handel, Mozart)
Art: Baroque gives way to rococo art (simple, elegant and charming)
Literature: Novels become popular (Robinson Cruesoe)