The Englightenment and Enlightened Despotism Flashcards
The Enlightenment
Secular world view emerged for first time in human history; Natural Science & Reason could explain all aspects of life; New belief saw autonomy of man’s intellect apart from God; Faith in human reason rather than faith in revelation
Deism
The religious arm of the Englightenment; God was a “cosmic clockmaker” –created the earth & then stepped back, left it running like a clock; Universe governed by “natural law” not by personal god; Grew out of Newton’s theories on natural law
John Locke
Greatest of the Enlightenment thinkers; “Two Treatises of Civil Government;” Humans are basically good but lack protection; Purpose of gov’t —to protect natural rights
Two Treatises of Civil Government
Locke; Philosophical defense for “Glorious Revolution” in England;
Social Contract
Locke; People agree to obey the gov’t in return for protection of natural rights
Right to rebellion
Locke; People have right to abolish gov’t that doesn’t protect natural rights
“Essay Concering Human Understanding”
Locke; One of greatest works of Englightenment; Stressed importance of enviroment on human development; tabula rasa; Education was critical to progress of society; Undermined religious view that humans were sinful
tabula rasa
The human mind was born a blank slate
Pierre Bayle
“Critical & Historical Dictionary;” Advocated complete toleration of ideas; A skeptic;
The philosophes
Notable 18th century French philosophers committed to reform in society; Extremely successful in popularizing the Enlightenment; Not professional philosophers; Believed in progress through discovering natural laws governing human existance and nature
Voltaire
Most influential of all Enlightenment philophers; Wrote criticisms w/ sarcasm; Challenged traditional Catholic theology; Deist; His social critisicm set stage for French Revolution ; Enlightenend despotism
Ecracsez l’infame
Voltaire; “Crush the infamous thing”
Voltaires influence
His views influenced several “Enlightened Despots” including Frederick the Great of Prussia , Catherine the Great of Russia, Joseph II of Austria and Napoleon of France
Voltaire + Equality
Believed in equality before the law but not in the equality of classes
Baron de Montesquieu
A french noble who hated the absolutism of Louis XIV; Wrote “Spirit of the Laws;” Checks and Balances
Spirit of the Laws
Montesquieu; Called for the seperation of powers in the gov’t into three branches; Primary goal to prevent tyranny + promote liberty; Checks and Balances; Favored the British System of monarchy
Montesquieu’s impact
On the creation of the US consitution and French Revolution
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
“Social Contract;” Believed that too much emphasis on property and not enough consideration of people was root cause of social injustice; “General Will”
General Will
Rousseau; A consenus of the majority should control a nation; Strongly implied democracy; Downside: minority viewpoints not recognized; Later manipulated by dictators to rationalize extreme nationalism and tyranny
Rousseau & Noble Savage
That a man in a simpler state of nature was good and was corrupted by the materialism of civilization
Emile
Rousseau; Supported porgressive education; learning by doing; self-expression was encouraged; Argued against equality for women in society
The Encyclopedia
Diderot; The greatest and most representative work of the philosophes; A Compendium of political and social critique from various Enlightenment philosophers and authors; Popularized the views of the philosophes; Emphasized science and reason while criticizing religion; Was banned in France
Marquis di Beccaria
Wrote “On Crimes and Punishment;” Sought to humanize criminal law based on Enlightenment concepts of reason and equality before the law; Punishment for crime should be based on damage done to society; Opposed death penalty; Views influenced the Enlgihtenment Despots
Mercantilist theory were challenged by..
New economic ideas espousing free trade and a free market
Francois Quesnay
Led the physiocrats in France who opposed mercantilist policies
Physiocrats
France; Opposed mercantilist policies; Sought to reform the existing agrarian system by insituting laissez faire in agriculture; Believed the French gov’t and nobility had too much control over land
Adam Smith
wrote “Wealth of Nations;” Believed the economy is governed by the natural laws of supply and deman; The invisible hand of the marketplace
Wealth of Nations
Considered the Bible of capitalism; Refined and expanded the laissez-faire philosophy of the physiocrats
“The invisible hand of the marketplace”
Smith; The laws of supply and demand will dictate the price at which society benefits the most
Salon Movement
Many of brightest minds of Enlightenement assembled in salons to discuss major issues of the day; Represented how new venues in civic society disseminated info to society, broke away from traditional venues; Largely male-dominated
Madame de Geoffrin
Played major role in patronizing Diderot’s Encyclopedia
Madame de Stael
Brought German romantic ides into France
Rousseau’s argument about women
Argued that because men and women had different temperamnets and character, women should not be educated in same manner as man; Believed that men and women had very different desitines due to their biology; Saw men as more valuable
Marquis de Condorcet
Only writer to support female suffrage; “Persian Letters” supported increased rights for women bud didn’t believe their family role should change
Mary Wollstonecraft
Promoted political + educational equality for women; Women should receive education because they educate their children + can be companions to their husbands not ornaments; “Vindications of the Rights of Women”
“Vindication of the Rights of Women”
Wollstonecraft; Attack on Rousseau’s views regarding education
Olympe de Gouges
“Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen;” Demanded that French women be give same rights as French men during early French Revolution; Was beheaded for criticism of French Revolutionary gov’t
Baron Paul d’Holbach
“System of Nature;” Argued humans were essentially like machines
David Hume
Argued against faith in both natural law and religion; A skepti
Immanuel Kant
Greatest German philosopher of Enlightenment; Separated science and morality into separate branches of knowledge;
Religion became viewed as…
A private rather than public concern
By 1800, gov’t extended toleration to..
Christian minorities, and in some states, civil equality to Jews
Classical Liberalism
Constituted the political outgrowth of the Enlightenment; Belief in laissez faire capitalism; Belief in progress, human dignity and human happiness; Relgious toleration, freedom of speech and press
Impact of Enlightenment on Society
Emergence of a secular world view of the universe; Enlightened despotism in Prussia, Russia, Austria, and France; American + French Revolutions; Educational reform; Growth of laissez faire capitalism; New public venues and print media emerged
Philosophes on Enlightened Despots
They believed absolute rulers should promote the good of people, but that people were not capable of ruling themselves
Reforms of the enlightened despots…
Religious toleration; Streamlined legal codes; Increased access to education; Reduction/ elimination of torture and death penalty
Frederick the Great of Prussia
Greatest ruler in German history; Patronized Voltaire; His reforms mostly intended to increase power of the state; Peasantry didn’t benefit from his reforms; Allowed religious freedom; Promoted education in schools and universities; Streamlined laws–judicial system became more efficent in deciding cases; Freed the serfs on CROWN LANDS—remained full force on noble estates; Reduced censorship; Improved state of Bureaucracy by requiring examinations of civil servants; Abolished capital punishment
Social structure in Prussia remained…
Heavily stratified; Serfdom on noble lands was maintained; Junkers were backbone of Prussia’s military and state
Junkers
Prussian nobility
Catherine the Greate
One of greatest ruler in Euro history; Least Enlightened of the enlightened despots; Diderot lived in her court for a time; Gave nobility absolute control of their serfs in return for support from nobility; Imported Western Culture into Russia; Supported first private printing press; A school for noble girls was founded; Practice of torture was restricted; Limited degree of Religious toleration allowed; Jews granted civil equality; Territorial Growth was sifnificant
Shortcomings of Catherine’s reforms
Only State and nobility benefited; Nobles were freed from taxes; Serfdom became more sever;
Territorial Growth of Catherine the Great
Annexed Polish territory; Gained Ottoman land; Began conquest of Caucasus region; Provided Catherine with new lands to give to nobility to earn their loyalty
Maria Theresa
Austria; Sought to improve condition of her people through absolute rule; Conservative and cautious; Centralized control of Habsburg Empire; Limited power of nobles; Reduced power of lords over their serfs; Nobles were taxed; Helped the condition of serfs; Brought the Catholic Church in Austria under state control; Promoted economic development; NOT considered an enlightened despot
Joseph II
Ruled with his mother, Maria Theresa as co-regent until her death; Greatest of the Enlightened despots– in terms of reforms–was least effective
Major Reforms of Joseph II
Abolished serfdom and feudal dues; Freedom of religion and civic rights to Protestants and Jews; Allowed freedom of the press; Reformed judicial system; Abolished torture; Expanded state schools; Established hospitals
Why the Empire declined under Joseph’s reign
Austria was defeated several times in war; Austrian Netherlands were in revolt; Russia was threatening Austria’s interests
Why was Marie Theresa not considered an enlightened despot
Was not a fan of the Enlightenment; She did not allow religious toleration–though did provide some toleration for Protestants
