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Main Ideas of Men and Women Enlightenment Thinkers

Page history last edited by Robert W. Maloy 1 week, 4 days ago

 

 

Image result for the enlightenment

 

Focus Question:

What was the Enlightenment and what were the main ideas of the major Enlightenment thinkers?

 

 

Topics on the Page

 

Overview of the Enlightenment

 

Men of the Enlightenment

  • Denis Diderot
  • Immanuel Kant
  • John Locke
  • Baron de Montesquieu
  • Jean-Jacques Rousseau
  • Voltaire 

 

Women of the Enlightenment

  • Mary Wollstonecraft
  • Olympe de Gouge
  • Emilie du Chatelet
  • Caroline Herschel
  • Mary Somerville
  • Maria Sybilla Merian 

 

Effects of the Enlightenment

  • on the American Revolution
  • on the French Revolution
  • on European Monarchs 

 

Race and the Enlightenment

 

 Cross-Link: Political, Economic and Intellectual Influences on the American Revolution

 

 

A. Overview of the Enlightenment


The Enlightenment, also known as the Age of Reason, was an intellectual and philosophical movement in the 17th and 19th century, more specifically 1685- 1815.

 

This movement set forth the belief that "human reason could be used to combat ignorance, superstition, and tyranny and to build a better world." In other words, people were able to gradually start to think for themselves and question old belief systems to better their lives. 

 

  •  Enlightenment thinkers believed that systematic thinking could apply to all forms of human activity. They also emphasized rational reasoning in the sciences, philosophy, arts, religion, and politics of Old Europe. Other ideas included freedom and equality. 

 

  •  Enlightenment issues began to be explored in the question of what the proper relationship of the citizen to the monarch or the state should be.

 

  • The idea that society was a contract between individual and some larger entity became a key concept in thinking about government and society.

 

Some main themes dominated the Enlightenment:

 

  • Rationalism= Humans are capable of using reason to gain knowledge rather than relying heavily on Church scriptures or authorities.

 

  • Empiricism= Experiences and observations of the world produce knowledge

 

  • Progressivism= Humans are capable of making unlimited, linear progress over time 

 

  • Cosmopolitanism= From the Enlightenment thinkers' points of view, they were "actively engaged citizens" of the world instead of being closed minded people.

 

"The Enlightenment's optimistic faith in the discovery and application of natural law to human life--as in the works of Hobbes and Locke, Montesquieu and Rousseau--was the inspire reforms and revolutions in many corners of the world. . . .The first great upheavals to be marked--though surely not "caused"--by Enlightenment thought were the American and French revolutions, and they opened the modern era of world history" (Lessons from History, National Center for History in the Schools, 1992, p. 262). 

 

Apart from the main themes of the Enlightenment, one must understand that there was no "one Enlightenment Movement." In other words, it was a movement that set off in many different European countries simultaneously or roughly around the same time from each other. One can see many different Enlightenment Movements in France, England, Switzerland, Germany, and even America.   

 

  Here is a 16 minute Crash Course YouTube video on an overview of the Enlightenment:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnoFj2cMRLY

 

AP World History Key Concept 5.3 

 

Here is a matching quiz for kids about Enlightenment, thinkers, and their ideas!

 

Here is an interactive picture- to-caption overview of the Enlightenment and its effect on monarchs at the time: https://en.historylapse.org/influence-of-the-enlightenment-on-the-french-revolution

 

 

 

 

B. Men of the Enlightenment

 

Image result for denis diderot

Denis Diderot (1713-1784)

 

Was the editor-in-chief of the famous Encyclopedie.

  • This book was the world's first version of the modern encyclopedia.


Diderot's writings threatened the power of the aristocracy of France because he supported freedom of religion, freedom of thought, and the value of science and industry.

He believed a democratic doctrine for the common people of a nation should to be the main concern of the nation's government.

Here is a link with many details regarding Diiderot's life before the Enlightenment, major beliefs, and some of his works:https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/diderot/#MajoThemDidePhil

 

 


Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)

 

Kant called his way of thinking a "Copernican Revolution in Philosophy" and argued that people can find answers to philosophical problems through examining their own mental faculties, instead of through metaphysical speculation.Image result for kant

Kant also stated that the mind shapes people's perceptions of reality based on their own experiences. Kant also believed that morality depended on one's intent behind an action, and not the consequence of the action (9).

 

  • The Critique of Pure Reason has often been cited as the most significant volume of metaphysics and epistemology in modern philosophy. Kant argued that our understanding of the external world has derived from personal experience and prior knowledge. He believed that moral law is a principle of reason.

 

 

 

 

 

 

John Locke (1632-1704)


Was a social contract political theorist. Locke is remembered by some historians as the father of classical liberalism and modern republican government.Image result for john locke
He argued a state could only be legitimate if it received the consent of the governed through a social contract.


This social contract theory protected the natural rights of life, liberty, and property. If this did not happen, he argued that the people had a right to rebel. Locke supported England's constitutional monarchy and promoted democratic governments with a system of checks and balances.

His ideas would later influence the American Revolution and the framers of the U.S. Constitution.

Thomas Jefferson's most famous quote from the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" was based on Lockean philosophy.

Locke believed all men, literally men and not women, had the political rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of private property. He also believed that human beings, because of divine will are by nature inherently good and can make their own reasonable decisions if left alone by the government.


  Excerpts from Two Treatises of Government (1690).

Locke wrote Two Treatises of Government (1690) in which he said he believed in Natural Law, and that people have Natural Rights, under which the right of property is most important.

 

He wrote, "... every man has a property in his own person. This nobody has any right to but himself."

 

He believed government exists to protect those rights and he argued in favor of revolt against tyranny. His ideas were a foundation for much of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution

 

 

Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755) 

 

Best known for his belief in the separation of governmental powers.

Inspired by England's Glorious Revolution and Constitutional Monarchy, Montesquieu believed that in an ideal state there are two types of governmental authority:Image result for montesquieu

  • the sovereign (King/President) and
  • the administrative powers (bureaucracy).


There are three administrative powers within a state:

 

  • the legislature (parliament/congress),
  • the executive (king/head of state),
  • and judiciary (court system).

 

    • The purpose behind this system of checks and balances is to prevent a single individual or group of people from having full control of the state.


Ironically while Montesquieu was inspired by Britain's Constitutional monarchy, England during the time period did not practice separation of governmental powers.

 

  • Up until the late 1800s, the British Monarchy effectively ruled the nation with the help of the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

 

  • England to this day still does not have an official constitution.

 

    • While Montesquieu might have misinterpreted how the British government ran it's country, the idea of having a constitutional government with three separate branches of the state would later become essential in the writing of the American constitution.

 

    • To get any official new legislation passed into law, the United States President must always work together with Congress. This is the legacy of Montesquieu's political philosophy in practice today.

 

  Selections from The Spirit of the Laws (1748)

 

 

 

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)

 

His political ideas influenced the French Revolution, the development of socialist theory, and the growth of nationalism.

 

He wrote Confessions which influenced modern autobiography.

Rousseau made the distinct division between society and human nature. He believed man was good by nature, but is corrupted by society.

Rousseau argued that progress in the arts and sciences led to the corruption of morality and virtue. He wrote "The Discourse on the Origin of Inequality," arguing that people are inherently good by human nature, but that historical events have corrupted them and led to the present state of civil society.

He believed in an ideal world human beings would be living in small communal farming communities.

Rousseau wrote "Emile" on the philosophy of education, and "The Social Contract," which shows that his writing was very diverse. In his "Discourse on Political Economy," Rousseau advised states to, "follow the general will in every action, ensure that every particular will is in accordance with the general will, and public needs must be satisfied" (10).

 

Rousseau's most important work is The Social Contract, which makes clear the basis of political order.

 

 

 

Voltaire (1694-1778)

 

Voltaire at his desk. Engraving by Baquoy, ca. 1795
Voltaire at his desk. Engraving by Baquoy, ca. 1795

 

  • Best known for his defense of civil liberties including freedom of religion and a right to fair trial.
    • Voltaire distrusted democratic governments and had a strong personal hatred for traditional European religions, like Christianity and Judaism.
  • Voltaire was a deist who believed that the existence of God could be based on rational thinking, instead of clerical beliefs.

 

    • He also believed that only an enlightened despot could bring about effective social change in European states. Voltaire hated slavery, but at the same time believed in scientific racism.

 

    • In his writings, Voltaire often denounced the injustices of the France's ancient regime which unfairly favored society's corrupt elite. Voltaire's ideas would later influence the leaders of the French Revolution and Napoleonic France.

 

 His most famous book is Candide, a darkly comic political novel in which he exposes the corruption he sees in society.


Voltaire's controversial Letters on the English 1778

 

 

Thomas Paine 1737- 1809                                                                                                                                                                                                                 File:Thomas Paine.jpg

  • Was an English American writer and political pamphleteer who around the American revolution wrote "Common Sense" which was a 47-page booklet arguing for the independence of the 13 colonies.

 

  • Thomas Paine distrusted monarchy and thought that most of them throughout history had been tyrannical, and that an ideal society would be rooted in democracy.

 

  • His writings fueled enlistment in the US revolutionary army .

 

  • Also spent time overseas in France during their revolution helping shape the conversation there as well. 

 

 

  Short Video on Thomas Paine  

 

 An Enlightenment Salon Learning Activity, Robert Davidson, Whitman-Hanson Regional High School

 

Click here for a 12 minute video about prominent Enlightenment thinkers. This video introduced a bit of history of the Enlightenment and introduced four thinkers, Hobbs, Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau and their ideas of the enlightenment. This video is organized well and he draws and writes the information out in an organized chart for watchers to understand. 

 

This game, Match the Memory, lets students match philosophers with their philosophies through a matching card game (13).

 

 

 

C. Women of the Enlightenment

 

Women were usually confined to the traditional gender role of being kept in a domestic or private sphere of society, like staying and working at home and presenting themselves elegantly in front of guests.

 

Women did not have many rights and privileges. Many males of the enlightenment period thought most women were not suited in talking about the new philosophical movement that was happening. However, the Enlightenment introduced prominent women thinkers that tried to established more rights for the female gender. 

 

Here for more information on Women's role from the Renaissance up to the Enlightenment.

 

Here for more in depth information about women contribution during the Enlightenment

 

here for an 8 minutes video on Women's role in society during the Enlightenment


Here for a PDF that explains the oppression of Women during this time period. However, there are many Women writers and philosophers that tried to make a name for themselves during this time period and help expand rights for women. 

 

Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797)

Portrait of Mary Wollstonecraft

  • Mary Wollstonecraft was an 18th-century British writer and philosopher who is considered one of the most important figures in the feminist movement. She was born in London in 1759 and grew up in a financially unstable family. Despite limited formal education, she became a prolific writer and advocate for women's rights.

 

  • In 1792, Wollstonecraft published her most famous work, "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman," which argued that women should have the same rights and opportunities as men, including the right to education and political representation. The book was groundbreaking in its time and helped to lay the foundation for modern feminism.

 

 Historical Biography Page: Mary Wollstonecraft - an early feminist during the enlightenment era, she advocated for access to education. 

 

Click here for a short video biography on Mary Wollstonecraft

 

 

Olympe de Gouges (1748-1793)

 

  • Olympe de Gouges was an 18th-century French writer, feminist, and activist. She was born in 1748 in Montauban, France, and is best known for her writings advocating for women's rights and social justice.

 

  • De Gouges was a prolific writer and playwright, and her most famous work is the 1791 Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen, which challenged the male-dominated French Revolution's Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. In this declaration, de Gouges argued that women were equal to men and should have the same rights and opportunities.

 

 Historical Biography Page:  Olympe de Gouges

Portrait of Olympe de Gouges

File:Marie-Olympe-de-Gouges.jpg

Some example of women that contributed to the Enlightenment in the field of science are:

 

    • Emilie du Châtelet - Translated Isaac Newton's Principia in French, she pioneered the ideas of physics in France 

 

    • Mary Somerville - A British scientist that wrote about physical science like magnetism and sunlight

 

    • Maria Sybilla Merian - An artist that was well versed with discovering new species of wildlife in South America

 

More information found on these women and others that were not mentioned can be found here that talks about their life and achievements. 

 

 Historical Biography PageCaroline Herschel - An astronomer who help discovered Uranus along with her brother.

 

 

 

D. Effects of the Enlightenment

 

American Revolution, 1765- 1783

 

Many Enlightenment ideas heavily influenced the American Revolution like equality, freedom, and justice. American colonists did not have those rights, so it was in their best interest to act on themes from the Enlightenment in order to become more conscious and to better their lives. In other words, King George III of England failed to protect the common good and basic rights of his subjects. Some of these failures were cutting off trade opportunities, heavy taxes, waging war against colonial towns, and denying trial by jury. 

 

Important Enlightenment related figures to American Revolution

  • Ben Franklin 
    • Self- interest pursuit of material wealth is virtuous with the promotion of the public good through philanthropy and voluntarism (enlightened self- interest)
    • Cultivating peaceful relations: reason, free trade, and cosmopolitan spirit
    • strong advocate of religious liberty  
    • “moral perfection” = cultivate thirteen virtues (temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, and humility) as well as a healthy dose of “cheerful prudence.”
    • More on Franklin and the American Enlightenment:  http://www.benfranklin300.org/_etc_pdf/Enlightenment_Richard_Beeman.pdf

 

  • Thomas Jefferson
    • Drafted the Declaration of Independence, which heavily carried Enlightenment ideals
    • Contributed to the Constitution with James Madison which also held Enlightenment ideals
    • The Declaration of Independence (1776)
    • "I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions, but laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times." -Thomas Jefferson

 

  • James Madison & Alexander Hamilton 
    • In framing the Constitution of the United States in 1787 and their subsequent defense of the new Constitution in The Federalist Papers, Madison and Hamilton carried Enlightenment ideals of separation of powers from Montesquieu and, though not directly influenced by him, mirrored Rousseau's ideas of human nature  
    • More on James Madison:  http://enlightenment-revolution.org/index.php/Madison%2C_James
    • Here is the American Constitution:  https://constitutionus.com/
    • Here is a full collection of The Federalist Papers from the Library of Congress. 

 

 

French Revolution, 1789-1799

 

Much like the American Revolution, the French Revolution occurred mainly due to the fact that French citizens were becoming more self- aware of their horrible conditions in order to bring about more human rights into France. The French citizens overthrew the monarchy and Old Regime (mimics American colonies overthrowing King George III) and established the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (mimics the Declaration of Independence) which laid out basic principles of human rights, equality, liberty, justice, and fraternity. Women of the French community also published their own version called the Declaration of the Rights of Women and Female Citizen in order to establish rights for themselves. 

 

 The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen (1789)

 

The Declaration of the Rights of Women and Female Citizen (1791) are all based on the ideology of the Enlightenment.

 

 

Monarchs 

 

The Enlightenment influenced many monarchs. These figures were associated with Enlightened Absolutism/ Despotism because their rules reflected the Enlightenment. 

 

Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, ruled 1740- 1786

  • tried to create an effective state bureaucracy 
  • toleration of religious minorities
  • allowed freedom of press
  • advocated for scientific/ philosophical endeavors 

 

Catherine the Great of Russia, ruled 1762- 1796

  • tried to implement legal rights to serfs
  • encouraged music, art, education
  • established higher- education institution for women 

 

Joseph II of Austria, ruled 1765- 1790 

  • tried restructuring state bureaucracy
  • basic education became a requirement for all children
  • reduced role of Catholic Church
  • abolished brutal punishments  

 

  Crash Course YouTube video on Enlightened Monarchs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k108xCzJhbs&t=6s

 

 

E. Race and the Enlightenment 

 

Immanuel Kant on race by:  

 

John Locke on race by: 


African Americans During the Enlightenment

 

 

 

 

external image Test_hq3x.pngSample Teacher Test Question (from New York State Teacher Test Study Guide)

Which of the following best describes the central aim of 18th century Enlightenment intellectuals?
A. to create a synthesis of traditional religious thought and the findings of modern science
B. to demonstrate the philosophical limitations of secular humanism
C. to establish a society in which government met the needs of all citizens
D. to expose current assumptions and institutions to the tests of reason and experience

Correct Answer is D
"a major aim of 18th century Enlightenment intellectuals was to use the scientific method to study and improve society. By subjecting all aspects of social and political life to the test of reason and experience, they believed they could create a more humane and rational world." ( New York State Teacher Test Study Guide).

 

 

Works Cited:

[1] Denis Diderot. http://people.brandeis.edu/%7Eteuber/diderotbio.html
[2] Voltaire. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/voltaire/
[3] Jean-Jacques Rousseau. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/rousseau/
[4] Montisquieu. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/montesquieu/
[5] John Locke. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/locke/
[6] Immanuel Kant. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant-moral/
[7] http://www.funtrivia.com/playquiz/quiz2435561be2be8.html
(8) http://www.iep.utm.edu/kantmeta/
(9)http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/kant/themes.html
(10)http://www.iep.utm.edu/rousseau/#H3
(11) http://www.slideshare.net/jboyerswitala/women-of-the-enlightenment-5778495?next_slideshow=1
(12) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gQuEd-Oyh0
(13) http://matchthememory.com/EnlightenmentThinkers

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