Chapter 19 - Culture and society in 18th Century Europe

Intro to Enlightenment

Enlightenment: period of time roughly 1720-1790 when scholars believed in the use of reason and scientific method

• The use of reason eventually sparked revolution throughout the world
• A new way of looking at religion, politics and society
• Based upon Cartesian influence of doubt and skepticism - criticism

 Philosophers based their ideas on the discoveries of the scientific revolution

 Principles of Enlightened Thought

1. Reason: Logic which is absent of intolerance, bigotry and prejudice
2. Nature: Natural laws for everything
3. Happiness: Result of accepting nature’s laws
4. Progress: Could perfect human society
5. Liberty: Freedom of thought

 Who participated?

• France: anti-establishment critics (salons)
• Scotland and German States: universities
• Prussia, Austria and Russian: Monarchy

 Immanuel Kant: What is the Enlightenment? 1784

• Freedom to use one's mind

 Enlightenment began with the confluence of the English empirical - analytical (Newton / Locke) movement and the French rationalist movement (Descartes)

• Voltaire was brought the two movements together

 Voltaire:

• Francois - Marie Arouet, pen name Voltaire
• Jesuit education, general trouble maker (challenged authority), forced to live in England for three years
• Traveled through out Europe over the course of his life

 Philosophical Letters Concerning the English Nation 1734

• Presented the English system as superior to the French in terms of religious tolerance, political constitution and empirical expression of thought

 Candide 1759

• Story about young man who was forced to travel throughout the known world
• "Travel" literature was a common genre of satirical literature during the Enlightenment
• ie. Persian Letter, 1721 (Montesquieu). Gulliver's Travels, 1726 (Swift).
• Satire aimed at a very cosmopolitan audience, attacked all traditional sources of authority in Europe

 Treaties on Toleration 1763

• attempted to clear memory of Jean Cala (accused of murdering his son to prevent conversion to Catholicism)
• Attacked intolerance and the Christian church

 Deist: Deism saw god as an inventor of natural law with little or no interference

• God as a clockmaker

 Impact of Voltaire: life work resulted in the confluence of the British empirical / analytical movement with French rationalism, creating the basis of the French Enlightenment

 David Hume: 1711-1776

• Scottish Philosopher
• Claimed to be too skeptical to be an atheist
• An Enquiry Concerning Human Knowledge, 1748

1. All knowledge was dependent upon sensory input, thus no knowledge could be absolute
2. Church was no longer absolute

• “Religion grows out of hope or fear”

 Montesquieu

• Charles – Louis de Secondat a.k.a. Baron Montesquieu
• Persian Letters, 1721. “Travel” genre. Satire of Parisian morals from the perspective of Persian diplomats.
• Called all aspects of French society into question
• Considerations on the Grandeur and Decadence of the Romans, 1734
• established pattern of historical study
• examined the decline and fall to understand natural laws of government

1. Rome fell because grandeur and decadence destroyed traditional Roman virtues

• Conclusion: One can only maintain a healthy govt. / society by maintaining virtue
• The Spirit of Laws, 1748
• Attempt to expand upon the conclusions presented in the Considerations
• All govt. fit into one of three categories
• Republics, Monarchies and despots
• Republics were upheld by virtue and moderation, but threatened by vice and excess
• Monarchies were upheld by honor, kings guided by LAW, threatened by corruption

1. Despotism was monarchy without the guidance of law, authority rested upon fear & oppression
2. To prevent the rise of Despotism, govt. must have the power to govern but also prevent corruption and the loss of virtue
3. How? Separation of power and checks and balances

Application: British system was the best. Monarchy with a strong independent aristocracy as a check on the monarchy

 Impact: In the Persian Letters, Montesquieu helped established the “Travel” genre of enlightenment literature and roundly criticized almost every aspect of society. In Considerations, Montesquieu established a pattern of historical study and an examination of the fall of Rome. In the Spirit of Laws, Montesquieu established the idea that govt. should not act in an arbitrary fashion, and in fact should be restrained. Spirit of Laws is also seen as the first sociological work in history as it examines ideal social systems rather than real.

 Rousseau

• Saw man’s existence in nature as essentially good, society corrupted and turn man to evil
• Led him to a philosophy often described as romantic empiricism

 Emile, 1762

• Story of a child and an ideal education
• Heavy influence of Locke (blank mind), Rousseau depicted individual as a “noble savage” who was corrupted by society
• Education should focus on the individual and the transformation of the individual into a citizen

 Social Contract, 1762

• Attempt to take the “noble savage” of Emile and place them into society as a citizen
• Man entered society of their own accord and retained their sovereignty
• Thus the state should be controlled not by a separation of powers but by the law, which should represent the general desires of the people – the General Will (GW)
• What is the GW?

General Will	Will of All
- What is best for the state	- The total sum of what the people want

 Problem: How should the GW be deciphered?

Two options:

• Counting votes: led to a democratic understanding of Rousseau

1. Problem: will this determine the Will of All or the GW?

• Abstract moral justice: must be understood by a special person, philosopher / king?

1. Problem: became a justification for totalitarianism

Rousseau as a totalitarian philosopher:

• opposed parties and political associations as representing the ideas of a few
• opposed organized religion independent of the state as a violation of the GW

 

Cesare Beccaria

• Crimes and Punishments, 1764
• Laws should be instituted to promote happiness within society
• Punishment should be just and act as a deterrent to crime & rehabilitation
• Advocated the abolition of torture and capital punishment

 General impact of the Enlightenment:

In general the Enlightenment was developed in Western Europe, but had a greater impact on governments in Eastern Europe (Prussia, Austria and Russia)

•  Presented a new educational model

1. Social reform through education was seen as the key to creating a better society
2. Attack the Jesuit strangle hold on education, left a void that would be filled by the governments
3. ie. Russian and Austrian states increase primary education for nobility

 

• Ideas of progress and optimism

1. Enlightenment philosophers believed that it was possible to improve society, invent the work optimism to express their hope in the future ( a new concept)

Marquis de Condorcet: The Progress of the Human Mind,1795 pulled together the ideas of educational and social reform advancing the idea that the human mind was in a state of educational evolution

•  Law

1. Beccaria impacted the legislative reforms of Catherine the Great and Joseph II of Austria

• Impact of the reorganization of legal systems in Eastern Europe was to increase the centralization of government administration

 

4. Religious Toleration

• Impacted both Eastern and Western Europe
• Increasing toleration of dissenting religious positions
• States openly broke with Rome (Spain and France expelled the Jesuits) 

5. Social change

• Individuals saw the purpose of life to increase their happiness through the advancement of their self-interests (Smith)

 

Philosopher	Nature of man	Understanding of man’s natural existence	Role of government	Source of Laws
Hobbes	Man bad by nature	War / conflict	People enter society, give up all freedom govt. should have absolute authority	God
Locke	Man is essentially good, but needed society for guidance	Peace	People enter society, give up rights in exchange for services, govt. limited	Nature
Rousseau	Absolute good	Isolation – “noble savage”	Man brought into society through his own consent, retained his sovereignty	People