3.3 Flashcards
1
Q
Immanuel Kant
A
- German
- defined enlightenment as people using their intelligence unlike before where they had to have to have the guidance of another
- “dare to know! Have the courage to use your intelligence!”
2
Q
Reason, natural law, hope, progress
A
Thought they could use rationalism or reason, like 17th century scientists did and were successful, they could then could make progress toward a better society than the one they have now
3
Q
Major changes that formed movement of Enlightenment
A
- Popularization of Science
- New Skepticism
- Impact of Travel literature
- Inspiration from Locke and Newton
4
Q
The Popularization of science
A
- Popularization from 18th century scientists came from 17th century ideas spreading to circles of educated europeans instead of scientists themselves
- VIP: Bernard de Fontenelle
5
Q
Bayle
A
- thought making people believe a set of religious ideas was wrong, but it should be about individual conscience that determine one’s actions
- believed we should use rationalism to dig deeper into the meaning of the bible and secular documents instead of using the literal meaning of it
6
Q
The Impact of Travel Literature
A
- 18th: Cook’s discoveries of Tahiti, New Zealand, and Australia and book: Travels had people thinking the natives are “natural men” or close to the origin of the world and simple
- travel literature of 17th and 18th had people realizing that there are highly developed civilizations with different customs in other parts of world, especially China.
- people then comparing themselves relative to others and discovered these practices are grounded in custom instead of reason
7
Q
Cultural Relativism
A
- cultural relativism came when europeans were so sure they were doing the right thing
- realized that others have the same idea of God and this devastated people
- began classifying others into racial groups and some believed in polygenesis (separate human species) and monogenesis ( one human species)
- it’s the belief that no culture is superior to another because culture is a matter of custom, not reason, and derives its meaning from the group holding it
8
Q
Philosophes
A
- to them, the role of philosophy was to change the world instead of talking about it
- reason was not supposed to be used to create a system to explain all things, but could be used to discover natural laws and they could change society to these laws
- believed natural laws regulate universe and human society
- instead of people accepting misery to find salvation, they believed happiness was an inalienable right
- they were held together by common intellectual bonds, but disagreed and as it evolved it became more radical
- they called for freedom of expression because they were not free to write what they wanted to which is called censorship
- Formed a grand “republic of letters”
- Challenged traditional royal and Church authority, insisting that human instiutions should conform to logic and reason
9
Q
Cosmopolitan and international aspect of the Enlightenment
A
- it was internal and cosmopolitan, but it enhanced the dominate role being played by french culture
- but they still affected people around the Western World
10
Q
Inspiration from Locke
A
- book: Essay Concerning Human Understanding
- Instead of Descartes’s idea of innate/ native ideas, he said we are born with a blank mind/ tabula rasa
- believed our knowledge is from the environment instead of hereditary and reason instead of faith
- believed we could change ourselves and society by changing the environment
- paved way for the environment to be changed by showing how reason helped people discover natural laws and adjust instruction to these laws
11
Q
Inspiration from Newton
A
-people of englishmen believed that by following newton’s rules of reasoning they could discover the natural laws
12
Q
Montesquieu
A
- french noblemen
- in his book: Persian Letters, the program of french enlightenment is in this book
- book: The spirit of the Law
- wanted to limit abuses of royal absolution
- Influenced writers of American constitution
13
Q
Montesquieu’s Spirit of law
A
- through the study of different governments in the book, he could find the natural laws governing the social relationships of human beings
- Found three types of governments: 1. re publics 2. monarchy 3. desposition
- wanted to prevent despotism or absolute authority
- attacked traditional religion, advocacy of religious toleration, denunciation of slavery, use of reason to liberate human beings from prejudice
14
Q
Montesquieu’s Separation of Powers
A
- by praising and analyzing england’s system of each part limiting each other , he came up with the importance of checks and balances created by separation of powers
- he wanted separation of power because he wanted french nobility to play a role in french government
- divided authority would protect the rights of individuals by not having one branch get control over society
15
Q
Republics
A
good for small states and citizen involvement
16
Q
monarchy
A
good for middle sized states and belief in ruling class’s support to law
17
Q
Desposition
A
good for large empires and dependent on fear to inspire obedience
18
Q
Voltaire
A
- successful as a playwright
- French
- escaped to England and was impressed by their freedoms and religious toleration
- by praising england, he was able to criticize royal absolutism, lack of religious toleration and freedom of thought in France and censorship
- was bitter against the roman catholic church because he believed it’s insistence upon authority barred human progress
- popularized newton’s scientific discoveries
- believed in deism which was based on newtonian world machine and said God created the universe and lets its run according to its own laws and doesn’t interfere
19
Q
Voltaire and Religious toleration
A
- criticized traditional religion and was strongly attached to religious toleration and helped with fighting cases of intolerance in france
- because of Calas Affair, his appeals for toleration seemed more reasonable
- “crush the infamous thing” or religious fanaticism
20
Q
Diderot’s Encyclopedia
A
- it was to “change the general way of thinking”
- it was to bring together all the current and englishmen thinking
- have controversial political and religious subjects which then undermined established authority and attacked the Old Regime abuses
- because of price reduction, sales increased and was made more available
21
Q
“Science of Man” / Social sciences
A
- came because people thought we could discover natural laws underlying all human life by using Newton’s scientific methods
- they believed that they arrived at natural laws that governed human actions
- VIP: Hume
22
Q
hume
A
- Scottish
- Social scientist
- by examining and reflecting human life and using reason, we can have knowledge of human nature
23
Q
Physiocrats
A
- Leader was Quesnay
- First law: All wealth is increased by agriculture and land is the only source of wealth and rejected mercantilist emphasis of silver and gold
- second law: instead of mercantilism emphasizing controlled economy for benefit of state, they emphasized that people should be free to pursue their economic interests
- Laissez-faire
- Adam Smith and physiocrats laid foundation for economic liberalism
24
Q
Laissez-faire
A
- the government should leave the economy alone stead of interrupt
- Adam Smith
25
Q
Adam Smith
A
- believed in laissez-fare
- condemned mercantilists use of tariffs and to have free trade where economic laws of supply and demand will create a self-regulating economic system
- Thought labor, instead of land, is the true wealth of a nation
- Believed the state should not interfere in the economy and people’s lives , but to follow three functions (protection, defending, keep up public works)
- said the individual is motivated by self-interest
26
Q
Baron Paul d’Holbach
A
- German aristocrat
- moved beyond enlightenment ideas
- supported atheism
- believed the universe is made of matter in motion
- believed people need only reason to live in this world
27
Q
Condorcet
A
- by studying human history, he believed humans have gone through 9 stages of history
- with the spread of science and reason, we are entering the 10th stage of perfection
- moved beyond enlightenment ideas
28
Q
Rousseau
A
- thought when were at their primitive condition they were happy, but people wanted to have their own property and inalieanble rights made laws to preserve their property and rights
- believed the government is a necessary evil and we can’t go back to the way it was before
- book: Social Contract
- book: Emile
- because he wanted a balance between heart and mind, he was a precursor of Romanticism
- Thought women were naturally different from men
- believed in direct/ participatory democracy
29
Q
Rousseau’s Social Contract
A
- an agreement on the part of an entire society to be governed by its general will
- tried to harmonize individual liberty and governmental authority
- believed liberty is created when forced to follow what was best for all people because it would be also best for the individual
- believed the creation of laws could never be delegated to a Parliament and representatives because everyone is responsible for creating the general will
- said individuals engaged in a social contract with each other instead of the ruler and the sovereign power lies in the general will
30
Q
Rousseau’s Emile
A
- believed children are naturally good and entitled to education that emphasizes freedom and happiness
- education must be individualized since every mind has its own form
- children should be encouraged to draw their own conclusions from experience or “discovery learning”
- education should foster the natural instincts of heart and then have a balance of heart and mind
31
Q
Views of women
A
Negative:
-reinforced the natural inferiority of men and male domination by arguing it was based on natural biological differences
-said female constitution made women mothers as Rousseau said
Positive:
-Diderot said men and women are not all different
-Voltaire women are capable of doing what men can do
32
Q
Mary Astell
A
- said women need to be better educated
- argued for equality of sexes in marriage
33
Q
Mary Wollstonecraft
A
- pointed out two contradictions in views of women held by enlightenment thinkers
- to argue that women must obey men is contrary to beliefs of monarchs not having dominance over subjects
- argued that enlightenment was based on ideal that reason is innate in all human beings and that if women have reason then they are entitled to the same rights that men have
- said the subjection of women to men was equally wrong
- founder of modern feminism
34
Q
Social Environment of Philosophies
A
- During the Enlightenment, the greatest appeal was to the aristocracy and upper middle class of major cities and was the not preserve of any one class
- the common people were little affected
35
Q
salon
A
people had conversations on ideas of philosophers
women were hostesses and run by them and controlled them
import role in promoting conservation and sociability between upper class men and women as well as spreading ideas of enlightenment
the quality of men that went there made a salon well known instead of the women who were running it
36
Q
Ways ideas were spread
A
- salons
- publishing books
- places established by the state
- learned societies formed in cities in europe and america
- secret societies like the freemasons
