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Exploring the Characteristics and Philosophers of the Enlightenment Era

This overview delves into the key characteristics of the Enlightenment, highlighting the emergence of rationalism, cosmology, and secularism. It emphasizes the scientific method, utilitarianism, and the importance of education, freedom of thought, and legal reforms. Major Enlightenment philosophers, such as Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, Rousseau, and Beccaria, are discussed, with a focus on their contributions to ideas like social contracts, individual rights, and government structure. The Enlightenment's profound impact on society and its legacy in modern governance is also explored.

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Exploring the Characteristics and Philosophers of the Enlightenment Era

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  1. Enlightenment Ms. Ramos

  2. Characteristics of the Enlightenment • Rationalism  reason is the arbiter of all things. • Cosmology  a new concept of man, his existence on earth, & the place of the earth in the universe. • Secularism  application of the methods of science to religion & philosophy.

  3. Scientific Method • Mathematical analysis • Experimentation • Inductive reasoning. • Utilitarianism  the greatest good for the greatest number. • Tolerance  No opinion is worth burning your neighbor for.

  4. Optimism & Self-Confidence • The belief that man is intrinsically good. • The belief in social progress. • Freedom • Of thought and expression. • Bring liberty to all men (modern battle against absolutism). • Education of the Masses

  5. Legal Reforms • Justice, kindness, and charity  no torture or indiscriminant incarceration. • Due process of law. • Constitutionalism • Written constitutions  listing citizens, rights. • Cosmopolitanism.

  6. Core Beliefs • Truth discovered through reason • What is natural, is also good and reasonable • People can find happiness in this life • Society and humankind can progress and improve • People’s liberty should be protected by the law Ms. Ramos

  7. Enlightenment Philosophers Ms. Ramos

  8. Thomas Hobbes • Leviathan • Life in the state of nature is “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short” • Strongest element: passion • Self-preservation basis of his thought Ms. Ramos

  9. Man against man • To secure peace- est sovereign pwr not subject to civil law • Monarchy is most effective Ms. Ramos

  10. John Locke • English • Natural rights • Right to overthrow govtthat does not protect “natural” rights • State of nature is not perpetual war Ms. Ramos

  11. Hobbes vs. Locke Ms. Ramos

  12. Baron de Montesquieu • French • Separation of powers • Checks & balances Ms. Ramos

  13. Jean Jacques Rousseau • French • Natural goodness & individual freedom • Govt by “general will” of the people • Social Contract Ms. Ramos

  14. Cesare B. Beccaria • Italian • Justice system • Accused had rights • Advocated abolishing torture • Govt: greatest good for greatest number of people Ms. Ramos

  15. Common Sense • Pierre Bayle’s Historical and Critical Dictionary • demolished traditional concepts • Denis Diderot’s Encyclopedia (1751-1781), • encapsulated the whole of human knowledge Ms. Ramos

  16. Voltaire’sPhilosophical Letters • encouraged readers to cast off inherited misconceptions • Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Émile (1762) • Argued for new pedagogy (methods of teaching) Ms. Ramos

  17. War on traditionDiscuss this one- Don’t copy • Voltaire: Christianity often was “l’infame,” the detestable thing • Deism • belief in nature’s God who created universe according to natural laws • John Locke’s Letter Concerning Toleration • urged openness to all religious expressions (except Roman Catholicism and atheism) • Freemasonry • blend of Egyptian polytheism with medieval guilds and brotherly love Ms. Ramos

  18. Social ContractsDiscuss this one- Don’t copy • John Locke’s Second Treatise of Civil Government • government contract powered by consent of property owners • Montesquieu’s Spirit of Laws (1748) • laws evolved to be spirit of a nation • “constitutionalism” should protect freedoms of citizens • “separation of powers” create checks and balances • Rousseau’s Social Contract (1762) • state guided by “moral and collective body” of individual citizens • Jefferson: American Declaration of Independence Ms. Ramos

  19. Effects of the Enlightenment Ms. Ramos

  20. Enlightenment Ideas: • Encouraged people to use observation to make new discoveries • Rely on reason • Question traditional authority Ms. Ramos

  21. Enlightenment Ideas • Spread from Europe to the Americas • “the philosophes,” create the mvmt of the Enlightenment • Centered in France and England, also Scotland, Italy and Netherlands • Kant: “Dare to know!” • Influenced the American Revolution Ms. Ramos

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