Lecture 6 - Counter-Enlightenment Flashcards
What was Joseph de Maistre’s view on humans?
He saw them as violent and irrational creatures, who are in need of authority
What was De Maistre’s view as to the ultimate cause of the French Revolution?
He saw the Revolution as a punishment by God, because the Kings and aristocracy had grown too weak -> allowed the pilosophes to take over the public domain
What was De Maistre’s view on the Edict of Nantes?
He feels that it was too lenient -> protestants should not have been kicked out, they should have been exterminates
To which ‘modern’ movement can De Maistre’s view be likened to?
Facism
Which of De Maistre’s views correspond with facism? (3)
- Belief in the violent nature of reality
- His view that man was merely nature’s most succesful warrior
- His authoritarianism
What makes Napoleon’s rise to power paradoxical?
The revolutionary Napoleon abolishes the Republic and restores absolutism by crowning himself Emperor
What, according to De Maistre, was the crucial misunderstanding underlying the movement of Enlightenment, and what did he think this would ultimately lead to?
The belief that man is a harmonious part of nature
This belief would ultimately end in chaos, because man is by its nature irrational and violent
Which kind of autority did De Maistre see as essential for society to succeed?
Which influential Enlightenment author shares this view?
Religious authority
Rousseau also believed civil religion was necessary for a functioning society
Why did De Maistre have a particular dislike of protestants?
- Many revolts started in protestant countries, before spreading to Catholic France
- The Reformation had ushered in an age in which people were encouraged to think for themselves
What differentiates Burke’s writings on the Revolution from De Maistre’s?
Burke had already written his work on the Revolution while it was still taking place, and before it had become bloody
De Maistre was merely reflective
What is paradoxical about the fact that Burke is still seen as a champion of conservatism?
He had supported various progressive causes
At which point did Burke start to worry about the developments of the French Revolution
When he saw it compared to the Glorious Revolution, to which he objected
What were Burke’s objections to likening the French Revolution to the Glorious Revolution?
- The Glorious Revolution had taken place without bloodshed
- The philosophical background of the Glorious Revolution differed from the French Revolution
In which way did Burke see a differende between the philosophical background of the Glorious Revolution and the French Revolution?
Burke saw the Glorious Revolution as a conservative revolution, bent on restoring ancient rights of the people
The French Revolution did not aim to restore ancient rights, but to overthrow the ancient organization of France
Why did Burke see the Glorious Revolution as one that restored ancient rights?
The English saw themselves as egalitarian, due to their German ancestry: by their nature, the Brits were an egalitarian and freedom-loving people
Which thought is articulated in Burke’s belief that the English were, by their nature, freedom-loving and egalitarian, and the French weren’t?
The belief that every nation and culture have their own nature, culture and traditions, which have organically grown
Why does Burke consider it of importance that nations have organically grown cultures and traditions?
These customs help keep society together; as these customs have been organically grown, change must be introduced through organic evolution, not revolution
Why did Burke regard monarchy as something natural?
Just as every family has a pater familias, it is only natural that the State would also have a father figure in the form of a King
Why were ‘human rights’ and ‘freedom’ especially bad grounds to change the natural organization of the state?
He saw these as abstract, human-invented principles, made up for political purposes
What was Burke’s view on rights in general and on human rights in particular?
Burke sees rights merely as ‘wishes’ -> the ‘right to be fed’ is merely derived from our wish for everyone to be fed
Burke was especially critical on the rights of man: ‘What is man?’ -> if we cannot even identify man, then the rights we bestow them are also a product of our imagination
What, according to Burke, was the most important purpose of the state?
To deliver stability
Which institutions did Burke see as essential for providing stability to the state?
Monarchy, aristocracy and the Church
Burke had already assessed that the French Revolution would end in tyranny. He did so on the basis of two observations. Which are they?
- The observation that French nobility was no longer willing to stand up for their King and Queen
- He thought that democracy on a large scale would lead to tyranny of the majority over the minority
Who agreed with Burke on the idea that democracy on a large scale would lead to tyranny of the majority over the minority? (2)
Aristotle, Rousseau
