Lecture 3 - German Enlightenment I Flashcards
The phenomenon of Enlightenment is seen differently by philosophers and cultural historians. What is this difference?
Philosophers tend to emphasize the unity of the Enlightenment as a cultural enterprise, whereas cultural historians tend to emphasize local varieties
What is the main difference in the nature of the French and German Enlightenment?
France: refusal to strike a compromise with the notion of revealed religion -> the notions of Christianity are false and harmful
Germany: not anti-theological, but focussed on the nature of philosophy and reason itself
What is a contributing factor to the Holy Roman Empire’s limited development when compared to France?
The Thirty Years War had devastated German lands
In which aspect do the German Princes copy the Kings of France when it comes to their attitude to culture?
The German Princes start using culture as a political instrument
Which professions were important in German Princes’ efforts to modernize their states? How is this of importance to the Enlightenment
Lawyers and theologians; these would also be the first to show signs of Enlightenment thought
What is considered to be the start of the Aufkärung?
A lecture, held in German and not in Latin, by Christian Thomasius, in 1687
What did Christian Thomasius show by giving his lecture in German, rather than in Latin?
That, much like the French, the Germans should use their own language in scientific discourse, and not rely on German
What was the disadvantage of the use of Latin as the language of science in the 18th century?
Latin was no longer up to the task of describing the increasingly more complex world in which 18th century people lived
What was Christian Thomasius’ profession?
Professor of natural law
What did the defeat of natural law theory by Thomas Hobbes mean for the Enlightenment?
It allowed natural law to be replaced by philosophy and science
What is a common concervative argument in favour of natural law?
- If nature is morally charged, then there are things that are by their nature wrong/right
- God must be the cause of this, since God created the world
- If something is true time and time again, then God must have intended to be the case
- This makes it good
What is a left-wing use of natural law tradition?
It was helpful in the abolition of slavery -> if there are such things as natural laws, then they must hold for all human beings -> inspires the notion of equality
How can natural law tradition be used to argue that European/Christian (moral) standards are not superior? What does this tell us? (2)
Christian Wolff argued that the moral philosophy of the Chinese was equal to that of Christianity, telling us that:
- You do not eed supernatural revelation in order to be informed about morality
- There is every reason to assuem that human cultures are very similar: it does not make sense to think about cultures in a hierarchical sense
What was different in a theological sense between the starting point of the French and German Enlightenments?
French was a Catholic country, whereas Germany was Lutheran
What is the phenomenon of pietism in Lutheranism? (3)
- Rejection of theological dogmatism -> dogma’s aren’t important, leading a good Christian life is
- Strong individualism -> emphasis for every individual believer to cultivate its conscience
- Severe morality
Why would rulers of the Holy Roman Empire not be particularly fond of pietism? (2)
- A people focussed on individual conscience could lead to trouble
- Pietism had egalitarian tendencies
What is Aufklärungstheologie, and what was it based on?
An Enlightenment theology, based on pietism
Why did the Aufklärung never experience a radical theological phase?
The leading theologians were very liberal
Who are examples of liberal theologians in the Holy Roman Empire? Why were they so liberal with their theology?
Semmler & Spalding; they employed a simple technique: if you want to spread a message, you should adapt it to your audience
How does Aufklärungstheologie explain how D’Holbach was seen as old-fashioned in Germany?
Aufklärungstheologie admitted that some sections of the scripture isn’t to be taken literally. D’Holbach did take the text literally and attacked it.
Of whom is the liberal theology of Semmler & Spalding somewhat resemblant, and why?
Spinoza, who had already made a clear distinction between philosopy and theology
Philosophy: devoted to the search of truth, its object being nature
Theology: devoted to the object of obedience to the moral law
What does the distinction that Spinoza (and Semmler & Spalding) makes between philosophy and theology imply?
Because they are two wholly different fields, they cannot harm one another
Who was Godfried Ephraim Lessing?
A German equivalent to Voltaire, with a diverse and influential literary output
What is significant about Lessing’s work?
Rather than opposing Christianity with reason, he tries to unite the two, and turn Christianity into a reasonable religion
