Lecture 4 Flashcards
what is the Trial of Jean Calas
Jean Calas, (born March 19, 1698, Lacabarède, Fr.—died March 10, 1762, Toulouse), Huguenot cloth merchant whose execution caused the philosopher Voltaire to lead a campaign for religious toleration and reform of the French criminal code.
On Oct. 13, 1761, Calas’s eldest son, MarcAntoine, was found hanged in his father’s textile shop in Toulouse. Anti-Huguenot hysteria broke out among the local Roman Catholic populace, and Calas was arrested and charged with having murdered his son to prevent or punish his conversion to Catholicism. At first he attributed the crime to an unknown intruder, but he later insisted that his son had committed suicide. Found guilty by the local magistrates, he was condemned to death by the Parlement (appellate court) of Toulouse on March 9, 1762. The following day he was publicly broken on the wheel, strangled, and then burned to ashes. His son was buried as a martyr to the Catholic faith
when did the Trial of Jean Calas happen
1762
who tortured and executed Jean Calas
Parlement of Toulouse
what did the Parlement of Toulouse do
believed the hostile witnesses that came forward and ordered that Calas be tortured 2 times to admit he was guilty and name his alleged helpers
but he protested his innocence the entire time but was beheaded
what is François Marie Arouet also known as
Voltaire
what is Voltaire know for in terms of the Jean Calas situation
most famous enlightenment thinker in europe
he was appalled at the verdict and punishment so he took the case int his own hands and wrote an article.
The trial was done over again at the request of the king, he was found innocent and the family was compescated
Voltaire said that this was a prime example of how arbitrary rule was unjust; the use of torture, trials behind closed doors, etc… this stuff defied reasons and humanity to him
what did Voltaire write
Treatise on Tolerance on the Occasion of the Death of Jean Calas from the Judgment Rendered in Toulouse (1763)
and this influenced the king to right the family
who are key figures in the Enlightenment
Immanuel Kant Voltaire Nicholas Copernicus Sir Isaac Newton Montesquieu Denis Diderot Jean-Jacques Rousseau Cesare Beccaria Scottish Enlightenment figures as well
where did the enlightenment primarily occur
europe
what does Sapere aude mean
latin expression used by Roman poet, then picked up by Immanuel Kant in his essay
this means, “Dare to know” or “think for yourselves”
above all else, enlightenment thinkers shared a belief in universal human progress. It was reason that should be the primary source of power, it should not be monarchy or the church or old ways
what does Écrasez l’infâme mean
to crush innocence
people should be able to think and speak, and truth would be revealed through debate
belief in reason and progress against superstition, intolerance and arbitrary power
who said Écrasez l’infâme
voltaire
what did the enlightenment create
the scientific revolution
what three major changes; did the scientific revolution bring about
(i) Heliocentric view of universe . (ii) New physics . (iii) Scientific method of inquiry.
who is associated with the Heliocentric view of universe
(Nicholas Copernicus, De Revolutionibus, 1543)
who is associated with new physics
(Sir Isaac Newton, Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, 1687)
what is the Heliocentric view
the earth moves around the sun, the earth is not the centre of the universe
what is new physics
development of a new physics that fit the new heliocentric view
in his work, he formulated the laws of motion and gravitation hat lay the foundation of classical physics that came to dominate the views of the scientific world
who did enlightenment thinkers admire and what did they try to do
hailed men like Newton as heroes and thought this was the greatest step yet for humanity
they tried to broaden the application of the new scientific method to the moral and human scientists
collected and spread views through education— to abolish religion (superstition and irrational custom)
what are Enlightenment thinkers also known as
philosophes
Enlightenment thinkers did what
sought to apply scientific methods to “moral” or “human” sciences
who was Immanuel Kant
philosophe
german philosopher, gave best definition of what the enlightenment is all about
people often forget to think for themselves and get stuck in a child-like state and obey authority rather than follow reason
was no revolutionary, believed change should happen naturally and with minimal conflict
when did Immanuel Kant live
1724-1804
when did Voltaire live
1694-1778
what is significant about Voltaire
philosophe
writer, historian, philosopher, propagandist for enlightenment
advocated for freedoms of speak, attacked the church
was voltaire religious
believed in supreme being but not one that interfered with the world
what kind of government did voltaire advocate for
favoured English-style govt. and enlightened monarchy
what was voltaires views on authority
but was no revolutionary
wanted to enlighten monarchy more than the illiterate masses
believed we needed authority still and not to be run by the masses
what is an enlightened monarchy
a limited monarchy
when did Montesquieu live
1689-1755
what did Montesquieu do
lawyer, writer, philosopher, french
who wrote De l’esprit des lois (1748)
Montesquieu
why is the De l’esprit des lois important
first sustained attempt to classify and compare the varieties of human societies, and within these to study how the societies worked
what did Montesquieu want
favoured separation of executive, legislative and judicial powers (rather than French-style Estates); looked to an enlightened aristocracy
what is meant by separation of executive, legislative and judicial powers
each separate from, but influenced by each other
so that when one was impacted they were not all impacted
what is the French-style estates
clergy, nobility, people
represented by estates general
3 state-system
what was Montesquieu’s views on authority
not a democrat
looked to an enlightened aristocracy and not a monarchy
