Enlightenment
During the eighteenth century, Europeans
experienced the dawning of an age of
knowledge, reasoning, and of great
scientific achievements. Their views toward
new discoveries and advancements
were optimistic. People began to turn to
science for a better understanding
of their world and their society. Literature
and essays were commonly used to
express their hopes for further developments in
society, politics, economy,
and education. I. Individuals A. John Locke 1) Essay
Concerning Human
Understanding (1690) a) Regarded the human mind of a person as
a blank slate.
b) Did not believe in intuition or theories of innate conceptions
2) Two
Treatise of Government. a) Attacked the theory of divine right of
Kings.
b) Argued that sovereignty did not reside in the state but with
the people. 3)
Some thoughts concerning education. a) Recommended
practical learning to prepare
people b) Locke’s curriculum included
conversational learning of foreign
languages, especially French, mathematics,
history, physical education, and
games. B. Rene Descartes 1) Descartes's
philosophy, sometimes called
Cartesianism. a) Elaborate explanations of a
number of physical phenomena. 2)
Physiology a) Part of human blood was a
subtle fluid, that he called animal
spirits. 3) Study of Optics a)
Fundamental law of reflection: that the angle of
incidence is equal to the
angle of reflection. b) Paved the way for the
udulatory theory of light. 4)
Mathematics a) Systematization of analytic
geometry. b) First mathematician
to attempt to classify curves according to the
types of equations that
produce them. c) Made contributions to the theory of
equations. d) First to
use the last letters of the alphabet to designate unknown
quantities and the
first letters to designate known ones. e) Invented the method
of indices (as
in x2) to express the powers of numbers. f) Formulated the rule
for finding
the number of positive and negative roots for any algebraic
equation. C. Sir
Isaac Newton 5) Mathematics a) Calculus: Generalized methods
being used to
draw tangents to curves and to calculate the area swept by curves
6)
Optics a) Opticks: Sunlight is a heterogeneous blend of different
rays—each
of which represents a different color -and that reflections and
refractions
cause colors to appear by separating the blend into its
components. b)
Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica 7) Also
showed interest in alchemy,
mysticism, and theology D. Voltaire (Francois
Marie Arouet) 1) La Henriade (The
Henriad) 2) Two essays, one on epic
poetry and the other on the history of civil
wars in France. 3) Lettres
Philosophiques (The Philosophical Letters, 1734) 1. A
covert attack upon the
political and ecclesiastical institutions of France. 4)
Élements de la
philosophie de Newton (Elements of the Philosophy of Newton) 5)
Poème de
Fontenoy (1745), describing a battle won by the French over the
English
during the War of the Austrian Succession. 6) Siècle de Louis XIV,
a
historical study of the period of Louis XIV. 7) Essai sur l'histoire
générale
et sur les moeurs et l'esprit des nations (Essay on General History
and on the
Customs and the Character of Nations, 1756) a. Decries
supernaturalism and
denounces religion and the power of the clergy, although
he makes evident his
own belief in the existence of God. 8) Le désastre de
Lisbonne (The Lisbon
Disaster, 1756); a number of satirical and
philosophical novels 9) He rejected
everything irrational and
incomprehensible and called upon his contemporaries to
act against
intolerance, tyranny, and superstition. E. Denis Diderot 1)
Pensées
philosophiques (1746), which stated his deist philosophy. 2)
Encyclopédie ou
dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des metiers,
which is usually
known as the Encyclopédie a) French translation of the
English Cyclopaedia by
Ephraim Chambers b) Used the Encyclopédie as a
powerful propaganda weapon
against Ecclesiastical authority and the
superstition, conservatism, and
semifeudal social forms of the time. 3) La
religieuse (The Nun, 1796), an attack
on convent life. 4) Le neveu de Rameau
(1805; translated as Rameau's Nephew) F.
Jean Jacques Rousseau 1) French
philosopher, social and political theorist,
musician, botanist, and one of
the most eloquent writers of the Age of
Enlightenment.) 2) Discourse on
the Origin of Inequality Among Mankind 3)
Expounded the view that
science, art, and social institutions have corrupted
humankind and that the
natural, or primitive, state is morally superior to the
civilized state 4)
The Social Contract 5) Developed a case for civil liberty and
helped prepare
the ideological background of the French Revolution by defending
the popular
will against divine right. 6) Émile a) expounded a new theory of
education
emphasizing the importance of expression rather than repression to
produce a
well-balanced, freethinking child. 7) The New Heloise and
Confessions
introduced a new style of extreme emotional expression, concern
with intense
personal experience, and exploration of the conflicts between
moral and sensual
values. The Age of Enlightenment proposed ideas of
reformation, and greater
human advancement. Europeans’ ideas of education,
society, and politics were
optimistic. Their works of art, literature, and
science, helped pave the way for
future
advancements.
Bibliography
"Age of Enlightenment," Microsoft®
Encarta® Encyclopedia 99 "Rene
Descartes" Microsoft® Encarta®
Encyclopedia 99 "John Locke" Microsoft®
Encarta® Encyclopedia 99 "Sir
Isaac Newton Microsoft® Encarta® Encyclopedia
99 Buckler, John, Bennett
D. Hill and John P. McKay. A History of Western
Society, A. 6th ed.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1999. "Age of
Enlightenment"
http://www.EuroHist.org