The Enlightenment �Religion, & Society

What was the Enlightenment?

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• Let’s brainstorm!

I. What was the “Enlightenment”?

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1. Progressive (liberal) movement

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• Elements and Characteristics

a) change & reform is possible & desirable

b) based on REASON

c) Critical of social & political institutions of the “Old Regime”

d) individual “natural” rights

e) expansion of knowledge (esp. in science)

f) fear of change - from who?

II. Formative influences of the Enlightenment

1. Scientific Revolution

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• Locke & Newton (Sci.Rev) - ideas?
1. rationality, natural law, tabula rasa, natural rights, etc.

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3) G. Britain - most progressive & Enlightened - How?

4) France - least progressive, how?

-type of gov't, taxes, religious persecution, etc.

-Many saw it as France needing change!

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5) Print culture - where?

i) Salons/coffeehouses. Got ideas through printed ideas. Many new readers and people could make $ writing!

ii) Who began salons?

• Women - Madame Pompadour! Hope to get rights as well!
• What do gov’ts have to worry about now?

-public opinion!

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Salons

FUN FACT:

The hairstyle the Pompadour was influenced by Madame Pompadour

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III. Who were the philosophes?

1. Who were they?

-Rousseau, Voltaire, Montesquieu, Beccaria, Wollstonecraft, etc.

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2. Who read their work?

-Bourgeoisie bc educated

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3. What bonded these philosophes together?

• push to create freedom in all institutions to better human life
• philosophes came from all classes

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IV. Enlightenment & Religion

Many philosophes considered religion to be one of the most irrational institutions…

-taught humans they were incapable of change on earth

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-criticized science

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-promoted intolerance and fanaticism which created war and division. Ex.?

*Huguenot Jean Calas accused of killing his son b/c he was Catholic., and father tortured by French authorities, so Voltaire fought it. Eventually, proven his son actually died by suicide

V. Responses of the philosophes to Religion

1. Tolerance (least radical)

-Some were tolerant of other religious faiths other than Christianity (Judaism/Islam) - Ex. Voltaire

“Crush the infamous thing!”

- while other were was antisemitic (Diderot), some favored assimilation of Jews into society only if they converted to Christianity. What did Jews think?

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• Deism (more radical)

Two Tenents: 1) God exists 2) God is rational

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• Criticism & Atheism (most radical)

known atheist, David Hume -saying?

"It's a miracle people believe in miracles"

VI. Society (Although the philosophes wrote much on religion – humanity was the center of their interest)

1. Laws and Prison (Cesare Beccaria)
• crime should fit the punishment
• no cruel & unusual punishment
• speedy trials
• (US adopts in 6th amendment)

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• Economic Freedom
• physiocrats - early capitalists

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3. Adam Smith (The Wealth of Nations)

a) economic freedom

b) against mercantilism

c) sustained growth & laissez faire

d) based on his 3 “natural laws” of

economics:

1. Law of self-interest

-greed is good

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2. Law of competition

-“invisible hand”

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3. Law of supply & demand

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Toussaint L’Ouverture

4. Slavery

1. Society of the Friends of the Blacks
1. advocated for abolition of slavery which was achieved in 1791

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b) Slave rebellions in French colony, Saint-Dominique (Haiti)

1. Toussaint L’Ouverture, son of slaves, led rebellion

2)1802 – Napoleon reinstates slavery & captured L’Ouverture

3) In 1804, Haiti announced freedom from France

Enlightenment’s dark side on topic of race:

if you are interested in reading

5. Women in the Thought and Practice of the Enlightenment

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philosophes were generally NOT strong feminists. So…what did the major philosophes think of women?

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Jean-Jacques Rousseau (Swiss philosophe)

women inferior to men in all but the home - very traditional.

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politics, job, participating

outside the home

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Domestic Sphere

Sphere of Citizenship

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Mary Wollstonecraft (English) vs. Rousseau

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Men tyrant over women, have privileges & what do they do? Keep women down.

You are hurting the country of France by:

1. intellectually - only ½ the nation educated. Goes against the idea of the Enlightenment
2. Economically - allowing only men to work, you are hurting the output of the nation

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Baron de Montesquieu

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• Mentally - equal intellectually but not given the chance socially

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• Physically - b/c weaker physically, they are treated badly. political variable b/c society not ready for them to be treated fairly

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*How is he conservative (traditional) ?

-men should dominate @ home/marriage

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