The Enlightenment Flashcards
The Enlightenment
The intellectual revolution, affecting Europe and North America, that gave rise to new philosophy and science, changing the way people perceive God and the world.
Rationalism
Knowledge is mainly a priori, a knowledge of principles known before, and governing any inquiry. Rationalists begin with metaphysical axioms and deduce from them what knowledge and ethics must be.
Hallmarks of the Enlightenment
i. Reason—An emphasis on the power of reason to discover the truth about humanity and the world
ii. Skepticism— regarding institutions and traditions of the past
iii. Science— offers intellectuals a viable alternative approach to knowledge
iv. Secularism—Life can be lived successfully without God or religion
v. Optimism—if modernity was lived out by all, progress would come to every area of society
vi. Anthropocentrism—man is of utmost importance.
Who is associated with Rationalism?
Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz
Empiricism
For empiricists, knowledge is mainly a posteriori, information gained by means of an empirical inquiry. Empiricists typically begin with epistemology and work their way from there to metaphysics and ethics. How can I really know? Is anything to be trusted outside of the five senses? Can I know something I cannot see, hear, taste, touch, or smell? Wouldn’t I always doubt it?
Who is associated with Empiricism?
Locke, Hume, Berkeley
Transcendental Idealism
Kant combined rationalism and empiricism:
- Noumenal—things are they are in themselves (a priori)
- Phenomenal—things as they appear to us (a posteriori)
Hallmarks of Liberal Theology
i. Maximum Accommodation—Liberal theology is best defined as maximal acknowledgment of the claims of modern thought.
ii. Optimism—Second, liberal theology was imbued with optimism about human potential
iii. Theology from below
iv. Interpret the Bible critically
