The Birth of Modern European Thought

1. The Birth of Modern European Thought Chapter 25 Eqs: What were the new-fab intellectual developments of the late 19th C in Europe? How did those developments impact society?

2. Introduction • The second half of the 19th century saw new scientific and intellectual developments…it was a “Second Enlightenment” and a “Second Scientific Revolution” • The original Enlightenment provided a heritage of rational thinking, toleration, and respect for secularism and science…Romanticism added a humanist element to the thought…during the latter half of the 19th century, the church saw its greatest attacks from thinkers • The Scientists of this age also challenged the boundaries set forth by the early Enlightenment…Darwin and Freud challenged the special nature of humanity • Other intellectuals challenged human nature and saw a great NEGATIVE outlook on human life rather than a positive one (thinkers became negative ninnies!)

3. At Least Everyone was Educated… • The one predominate change in the second half of the 19th century was that more and more people in Europe had become educated and literate…before 1850, you could only say 50% of the population anywhere was literate…rates were 60% and above by the 1870s (only the Balkans still had lower rates) • Thanks to Liberal demands, state sponsored education was the main reason…the 3 Rs were the main emphasis, with the hope that such basic skills could increase political behavior by the lower masses • Reading materials also became more prolific…newspapers enjoy their heyday in this…major European centers easily had 4 to 5 major circulating newspapers with several other smaller printers distributing their own in local areas of cities • Some were specialized by topic (politics, religion, social issues, etc.), other larger papers were general…many carried advertisements for consumer goods (as most do now) • Still other newspapers thrived on sensationalism (yellow journalism) and the gullibility of the reading public (like tabloids) • “A brisk market existed for pornography” • Despite the availability of this material, most of it was regarded as TRASH

4. Auguste Comte and Positivism • French, 1798-1857. A late-child of the Enlightenment and follower of the ideas of St. Simon (experts/national managers run society) • His creation = Positivism: Science is the final, positive, stage of human development because it involves precise descriptions of events w/o resorting to what cannot be seen (Divine intervention) • Comte argue that human thought had developed in 3 stages • Theological – things first explained as divine or religious • Metaphysical – Abstractions explained natural phenomenon • Positive – explanations become exact descriptions • Science was now separate from religion, there is no DIVINE secret or explanations to the inner workings of things, ONLY what is observed can be explained and matters!

5. Man versus Monkey! • Ah Charles Darwin…he took a ride on the HMS Beagle (1831-1836) surveying various different corners of the globe (most in South America) • He compiled all of his findings into his magnum opus, The Origin of Species which essentially outlined his theories of evolution • The main postulations were that organisms com into existence that can survive in their own environment…those that cannot adapt or survive their environment die (become extinct) the rest adapt, change and evolve…this is natural selection! • Darwin’s ideals of the “struggle to survive” became translated into social theory, Social Darwinism, which was used to explain why certain groups of people are meant to be dominated by others (racism or class division, for example)

6. Intellectual Skepticism • There was a great attack on Christianity in the second half of the 19th century…several religious events were called into question • History • Historians began to question the divine stories associated with the Bible…David Strauss wrote that Bible stories are like Greek mythology…they are not grounded in true firsthand accounts and that the events were most likely distorted • Science • Biblical accounts of time and creation were called into question…in Natural Theology, William Paley called into question the 6 days of creation and the true age of the Earth…the evolution vs. creation discussion began! • Morality • Theologians began to questions how God is described as treating people in the Old Testament (he always seems to be cruel!) • Morally, how have Christians actually behaved historically? (Think about the Crusades)…are these events true reflections of what the Bible says?

7. The Church versus the State • The church came under attack by many government during this time period, largely in part dude to the government’s expanding role in promoting education • Remember, the church had taken the lead in educating people for centuries, and, of course, the education was God driven…it certainly was NOT secular • In Britain, the first Educational Act of 1870 built schools in areas where education was lacking or where people thought the church was not doing a substantial enough job…this created a rivalry between the Anglican church and the state, basically over funding…the Second Educational Act of 1902 equalized funding for church AND state schools but demanded the same standards • The most extreme conflict occurred in Germany (Kulturkampf)…the Catholic Church at unification demanded religious freedom guaranteed in the new constitution…Bismarck left this as a state issue, but felt that religious political parties would threaten German unity…Bismarck removed the clergy from overseeing education and instituted state control…when clergy refused to obey, he had them expelled from Germany…in the end, Catholics became highly resentful of German government and Bismarck

8. A Church Revival • In spite of religion’s enemies, the church and Christianity saw a revival during this time period • Most striking was the resilience of the papacy led by Pius IX…he declared the doctrine of papal infallibility when speaking on matters of faith (the pope is never wrong!)…Pius also believed that the Catholic church could only survive in this modern world of politics if more authority was given directly to the pope and less to counciliar movements • Leo XIII, Pius’ successor, addressed the great social issue of the time, condemning the ideas behind socialism but still calling for a reform of labor…employers should provide just pay and allow unions

9. PHYSICal Science • Several new scientific discovers further challenged pre-existing religious, rational, liberal and conservative bourgeoisie ideas • Ernst Mach wrote (The Science of Mechanics) that scientists describe their findings in the term of observable sensations • Wilhelm Roentgen discovered X-Rays…Henri Becquerel, Ernest Rutherford and the Curies discovered varying properties of radiation…JJ Thomason describe the structure of the atom • The most critical discoveries in the field of physics came from Max Planck, Werner Heisenberg, and, of course, ALBERT EINSTEIN… • Max Planck postulated that energy does not flow in a continuous stream, but in groups of packages • Heisenberg created his uncertainty principle, which explains that particles flow in random patterns with no distinct order or direction (RANDOMNESS) • Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity explains that space and time exist in the same continuum and not independent

10. Literature: Realism, Naturalism and Modernism • There were 2 main types of literature during this era: Realist and Naturalist • Realists got REAL about issues, they told it like it was (think Charles Dickens, one of the earliest realist writers) portraying the dark side of life…authors like Emile Zola wrote about alcohol abuse, prostitution and labor strife…Henrik Ibsen portrayed the life of a subjugated housewife in A Doll’s House • Naturalists were opposite of Romantics, they portrayed life and human nature BUT not so weepy and sentimental…Gustave Flaubert wrote Madame Bovary whose female character sought true love, but whose life was plain and not heroic, purposeful or civil • Modernism was a movement criticisms of bourgeois morality, but striving for an aesthetic ideal of beauty and experimentation with form for its own sake (Virginia Woolf, Pablo Picasso, Marcel Proust, James Joyce)

11. NIETZSCHE • Philosopher began to question the adequacy of rational thinking…no one person (insanely) debated this concept better than Freddie Nietzsche • Nietzsche was anti-just about everything: morality, Christianity, nationalism, democracy, science…you name it, Nietzsche had a rant for it! • Nietzsche most famously declared “God is dead” • Some of his real wacky works covered the struggle between good and evil (Beyond Good and Evil) and the reality of morality (The Genealgy of Morals)…Nietzsche’s view of morality was that humans created their own, free of supernatural origins or declarations

12. Messing with the Mind • Sigmund Freud created the theories of psychoanalysis, which allowed people to find deeper meaning in their own personal lives • First, he postulated that past experiences (childhood in particular) invariably affect adult behavior • Then he tackled the issue of dreams, determining they were the product of unconscious wants and desires • The mind also existed as a struggle between 3 entities • Id – instinct (the devil on your shoulder) • Superego – social morality (the angel on the other shoulder) • Ego – the mediator between the above

13. Racism and Zionism • Aggressive imperialism created new ideas and justifications for racism…Racism was nothing new in Europe, but new scientific ideas (like Darwin’s theory of evolution) created a “survival of the fittest” mentality associated with ethnic background, skin color and behavior • Count Arthur Gobineau’s Essay on the Inequality of the Human Races served as a cornerstone for “Aryan” superiority…it mainly argued that too much mixing of races had occurred in the past and that the white race should maintain pure white genetics relationships or faces its disappearance (sound familiar?) • Houston Stewart Chamberlain took a biological approach, postulating that through genetics race could be “improved” • Anti-Semitism was also nothing new in Europe…Jews had been blamed for many of Europe’s problems in the past…the end of the 1800s and the new social theories led to increased Jew hatred, particularly in German states where radical Socialists saw Jewish greed as the main problem for social ills…Theodore Herzl wrote The Jewish State and founded the Zionist movement as a reaction…he proclaimed that no Jews will ever be safe from discrimination unless they were given their homeland/Promised Land back

14. Women in the Late 19th C • Again, biological and psychological social ideas affected/harmed the feminist movement in the late 1800s…antifeminists used the “survival of the fittest” argument to pose women as weaker emotional creatures who were irrational • Even Freud portrayed women as “incomplete human beings” who were basically destined as mothers who raised successful sons • Still the women’s movement did not falter…some women crusaded against sexual immorality and VD…Josephine Butler lobbied to end the Contagious Disease Acts in Britain which basically blamed women for the spread of certain diseases and treated women who were infected harshly…Auguste Ficke (a MAN!) openly called for the illegality of prostitution. • Both Butler and Ficke also crusaded for better positions in society for women, whether or not they would be allowed to participate in the political process • Authors like Virginia Woolf also tackled feminist issues urging more women to put pen to paper about their experiences, to imitate the intellectual pursuits of men to prove that they had the same capabilities and creativity of the opposite sex