The Enlightenmentor

The Age of Reason

What Was the Enlightenment?

The Enlightenment: intellectual movement in Europe during the 1700s that led to new theories about society, gov’t, economics, and religion

“Dare to Know!”To be enlightened: think independently

“Free thought”

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

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 (not religious)

A meeting of French Enlightenment thinkers

Enlightenment Thinkers

Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679)

• English• Book “Leviathan”• studied

government/humans• Believed natural state of

humans was to be at war• Why believe this?

• Lives are “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short”

Hobbes

• Believed that humans were driven by passions and needed to be kept in check by a powerful rulerabsolute monarchy is bestRuler got power from consent of people..not divine right

John Locke (1632–1704)

The “State of Nature”: all men equalPeople born a Tabula rasa, or a blank slateEverything is learned

Locke(continued)

Book: Two Treatises of GovernmentGov’t exists to preserve natural rights (life, liberty, property)If natural rights taken, right to rebel/change gov’tConstitutional monarchy best

The French Salon and the Philosophes

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(church, nobles)

• 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 Banned by the Catholic Church

Encyclopédie editor Denis Diderot

Baron de Montesquieu (1689–1755)

• French noble and political philosopher

• Book: The Spirit of the Laws

• Compared different types of govt’s

Montesquieu (continued)

• Separation of powers• Executive• Judicial• Legislative

• Would prevent tyranny• Constitutional

monarchy best, not democracy

Frontspiece to The Spirit of the Laws

Jean-Jacques Rousseau(1712–1778)

• The Social Contract• “Man is born free and

everywhere he is in chains.”

• Civilization corrupts natural goodness

Rousseau

• Gov’t receives power from the people • People in society have agreement: give

up some freedoms in exchange for protection/common good

• Believed all men equal• Democracy is best form of gov’t

The Enlightenment and the American Revolution

• The Declaration of Independence

• Influence of Locke• Unalienable rights

of Life, Liberty, pursuit of Happiness

• Right to change gov’t

Thomas Jefferson

The U.S. Constitution• Influence of

Montesquieu• Separation of

powers• Checks and

balances• No branch

too powerful

Painting depicting the Constitutional Convention

Women and the Enlightenment

• Changing views

• Role of education

• Equality

Mary Wollstonecraft Olympe de Gouges

Wollstonecraft (continued)

• A Vindication of the Rights of Women• Women need

education to become virtuous and useful

Title page of Wollstonecraft’s Thoughts on the Education of Daughters

“Enlightened Absolute Monarchs”

Contradiction of terms??Most of Europe ruled by absolute monarchsOpen to Enlightenment ideaspassed new laws and practices

Frederick the Great (ruled 1740–1786)

• Prussian ruler• Had a strong interest in

Enlightenment works and the arts

• Convinced Voltaire to come to Prussia

Frederick the Great (continued)

Wanted to make Prussia a modern stateReforms – Religious

freedom– Better ed– Efficient gov’t,

simplified laws– Banned torture

But kept serfs and supported nobles

Painting titled “Frederick the Great and Voltaire.”

Catherine the Great(ruled 1762–1796)

• Russian ruler• read Enlightenment

works• “Westernized” Russia

• Import art• Modernize industry and ag

• Wars to expand: Poland, Black Sea

Catherine the Great(continued)

• Domestic reforms• New legal codes• Improved ed• Restricted torture

• Peasant revolt led to• Control serfs• Stronger nobles

Maria Theresa (ruled 1740–1780) • Austrian ruler

• Government reforms

• Improved lives of serfs

• Son—Joseph II

Joseph II (ruled 1765–1790)• Ruled with his

mother until 1780• Joseph’s reforms

• Religious toleration

• Control over the Catholic Church

• Abolished serfdom

Napoleon

• French ruler• Military career• Rise to power

Napoleon I (continued)• Reforms

• Education: public schools

• Written code of laws• Men equal• Right to property

• But: restricted freedom of press and speech

The Enlightenment and the French Revolution

• The American Revolution

• The Estates General

The Marquis de Lafayette

The Declaration of theRights of Man

• Adopted by National Assembly in 1789

• “Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité”

The Legacy of the Enlightenment

GovernmentSocietyEducation

The signing of the U.S. Constitution