Enlightenment (Ch. 10 Sec. 2) Flashcards
eighteenth-century philosophical movement of intellectuals who were greatly impressed with the achievements of the Scientific Revolution
enlightenment
application of scientific method to an understanding of life
reason
Newtonian world-machine
If he could discover the natural laws of the physical world, then he could discover the natural laws of human society.
Newton
Essay Concerning Human Understanding
Tabula rasa (blank mind)
People are molded by their experiences that came through their senses and the outside world.
If people were exposed to the right influences, then people could be changed a new society created.
Using this theory, people believed that they could discover the natural laws that all institutions should follow to produce the ideal society.
John Locke
the intellectuals of the Enlightenment
philosophes
French word meaning “philosopher”
philosophe
Could refer to writers, professors, journalists, economists, and above all, social reformers. They came chiefly from the nobility and the middle class.
Most of the leaders were French.
English provided the philosophical inspiration for the Enlightenment.
Influenced everyone
philosophes
What was the role of philosophy?
to change the world
Charles-Louis de Secondat, the Baron de Montesquieu French noble The Spirit of the Laws published in 1748 Tried to use the scientific method to find the natural laws that govern the social and political relationships of human beings. Three basic types of government Republics - small states Despotism - large states Monarchies - moderate-size states Three branches of government executive judicial legislative Separation of powers Three sections of power limit and control each other in a system of checks and balances. It prevented one person from gaining too much power, therefore it provides the greatest freedom and security for the state. Lasting contribution to political thought
Montesquieu
François-Marie Arouet
Parisian
Known as the greatest figure of the Enlightenment
Came from prosperous middle class family
Wrote pamphlets, novels, plays, letters, essays, and histories
Brought him fame and wealth
Fought against religious intolerance and believed in religious tolerance
Treatise on Toleration
“all men are brothers under God”
1763
Supporter of deism
Deism - an eighteenth-century religious philosophy based on reason and natural law. It was built on the idea of the Newtonian world-machine.
Universe like a clock
Clockmaker=God
Universe was left to run with natural laws
Voltaire
an eighteenth-century religious philosophy based on reason and natural law. It was built on the idea of the Newtonian world-machine.
deism
To deists, the universe is like a ________.
clock
Went to University of Paris to please his father
Became a freelance writer so that he could study and read in many subjects and languages
Encyclopedia, or Classified Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts, and Trades
28 volumes
Published between 1751 and 1772
Wanted to change the general way of thinking
Became weapon for philosophes’ crusade against the old French society
Attacked religious superstition and supported religious toleration
Denis Diderot
Social science
The Physiocrats and Scottish philosopher Adam Smith have been viewed as the founders.
economics
a French group interesting in identifying the natural economic laws that governed human society. They maintained that if individuals were free to pursue their own economic self-interest, all society would benefit.
Physiocrats