The age of enlightenment, Papers of Culture & Society

Download The age of enlightenment and more Papers Culture & Society in PDF only on Docsity! The Age of Enlightenment1685 to 1815 The changes that Europe witnessed in politics, philosophy, science and communications were the outcome of a movement called the Enlightenment. Scholars and philosophers began to re-evaluate the old beliefs regarding government, religion, economics, and education. Their efforts stimulated the Enlightenment, a new intellectual movement that gave importance to reason and the power of individuals to solve problems. Known also as the Age of Reason, the movement reached its height in the mid-1700s and produced numerous books, essays, inventions, scientific discoveries, laws and even wars. Indeed, the American and French Revolutions were directly inspired by Enlightenment ideals. The early Enlightenment: 1685-1730: Many great thinkers worked in the years right before the Enlightenment and paved the way for it. They included thinkers from the 1500s and 1600s like the English philosophers Francis Bacon and Thomas Hobbes, as well as the French mathematician René Descartes. They also included Galileo Galilei, Johannes Kepler and Gottfried Leibniz, who made important discoveries in astronomy and mathematics. The Enlightenment's roots are usually traced to 1680s England. Isaac Newton published his "Principia Mathematica" (1686) and John Locke his "Essay Concerning Human Understanding" (1689). These two works provided the scientific, mathematical and philosophical stimulus for the Enlightenment's major advances. Thomas Hobbes expressed his views in a work called Leviathan(1651). The horrors of the English Civil War convinced him that all humans were naturally selfish and wicked. Hobbes was convinced that without governments there would be war and life would be poor, brutish and short. Hobbes argued that to escape such a harsh life and gain order and law, people had to hand over their rights to a strong ruler. Hobbes called the agreement by which people created a government the social contract. In Hobbes’s view, such a government was an absolute monarchy where the ruler exerted total power to keep citizens under control; thus, imposing order and claiming obedience. Locke’s Natural Rights The philosopher John Locke held a different and more positive view about human nature and government. He believed that people could learn from experience and improve themselves. Locke criticized absolute monarchy and favoured the idea of self- government. According to Locke, all people are born free and equal, with three natural rights— life, liberty, and property. The purpose of government, said Locke, is to protect these rights and a government’s power comes from the consent of the people. Locke’s theory had a deep influence on modern political thinking. It helped inspire struggles for liberty in Europe and the Americas. The High Enlightenment: 1730-1780: The Enlightenment reached its height in France in the mid-1700s. Paris became the meeting place for people who wanted to discuss politics and ideas. The social critics of this period in France were known as “philosophes”, such as Voltaire, Rousseau, Montesquieu, Buffon and Denis Diderot. Five concepts formed the core of their beliefs: 1. Reason. 2. Nature: what was natural was also good and reasonable. 3. Happiness: The philosophes rejected the medieval notion that people should find joy in the hereafter and urged people to seek well-being on earth. 4. Progress: society and humankind could improve. 5. Liberty: The philosophes called for ewsqfreedom that the English people had won in their Glorious Revolution and Bill of Rights. * Voltaire against intolerance: Using the pen name Voltaire, François Marie Arouet was the most brilliant and influential of the philosophes. He published more than 70 books of political essays, philosophy, and drama. Voltaire often used satire against his opponents. He criticized the clergy, the aristocracy, and the government. He was sent to prison two times. After his second jail term, Voltaire was exiled to England for more than two years. Although he made powerful enemies, Voltaire never stopped fighting for tolerance, reason, freedom of religious belief, and freedom of speech. * Montesquieu and the Separation of Powers Another influential French writer, the Baron de Montesquieu believed that Britain was the best-governed and most politically balanced country of his own day. The British king and his ministers held executive power. They carried out the laws of the state. The members of Parliament held legislative power. They made the laws. The judges of the English courts held judicial power. Montesquieu called this division of power “separation of powers”. Montesquieu proposed that separation of powers would keep any individual or group from gaining total control of the government. Moreover, he anticipated the idea that Power should be a checked. This idea later would be called checks and balances. His ideas about separation of powers and checks and balances became the basis for the United States Constitution. * Rousseau: Freedom Jean Jacques Rousseau was committed to individual freedom. Most philosophes believed that reason, science, and art would improve life for all people. Rousseau,