Enlightenment Outline
AP European History
Dr. Weiselberg
Unit Outline The Enlightenment
Basic Principles:
Nature
Reason
Progress
Happiness
Liberty
Background:
Philosophes
Voltaire
Francois Marie Arouet
"ecrasez l'infame"
enemy of intolerance, prejudice, superstition
Candide, 1759
Dr. Pangloss
Leibniz
Metaphysico-theologo-cosmolonigology
Montesquieu
On the Spirit of Laws, 1748
Separation of powers
Checks and balances
Legislative, Executive, Judicial
Jean Jacques Rousseau
State of nature
Discourse on the Arts and Sciences, 1750
Q: Has the advancement of science been beneficial to humankind?
Rousseau's answer:
because:
The Social Contract, 1762
"Man is born free but everywhere he is in chains"
Direct democracy
General will
Emile, 1762 education, pedagogy
Developmental stages
Romanticism
Cesare Beccaria
On Crimes and Punishments, 1764
Denis Diderot
Encyclopedia, 1751-
Marquis de Condorcet
Sketch for a Historical Picture of the Progress of the Human Mind, 1793
Edward Gibbon
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
David Hume
An Inquiry Into Human Nature
Miracles
Causation, cause and effect
Immanuel Kant
What is Enlightenment?
Sapere Aude, Dare to Know!
Critique of Pure Reason, 1781 (epistemology, the true)
Critique of Practical Reason, 1788 (morals, the good)
Critique of Judgement, 1790 (art, aesthetics, the beautiful)
Problems with Empiricists:
Problems with Rationalists:
Solution:
noumena
phenomena
analytic a priori
synthetic a priori
The Categorical Imperative
"Act as if the maxim of your actions were to become, through your
will, a universal law."
Adam $mith
The Wealth of Nations, 1776
Capitalism
Laissez-faire
Market forces
Invisible hand
Role for govt:
Salons
Marie-Therese Geoffrin
"Republic of Letters"
The Enlightenment and Women
Salons
Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, 1792
Emilie du Chatelet
The Enlightenment and Child-rearing
Earlier attitude:
Earlier practices:
New attitude:
New practices:
Enlightenment and Politics
Political Theory
Purpose of government:
Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, 1651
John Locke, Two Treatises on Government, 1690
Natural rights
Inalienable rights
Life, liberty and property
Consent of the governed
Right to overthrow the government if it fails or abuses power
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, General Will
Enlightened Absolutism
Frederick II of Prussia
Codify Prussian Law
Invited Voltaire to his court
Allowed Catholics and Jews to settle in Prussia (formerly Lutheran)
Joseph II of Austria, Holy Roman Empire
Abolishment of serfdom
Edicts of Toleration, 1781
Freedom of worship for Jews, Lutherans, Calvinists
Catherine the Great, Russia
Peter the Great - Westernization of Russia
St. Petersburg, new capital
Revise and codify Russian law
American Revolution
George III
Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776
Thomas Jefferson
French support of the colonists
U.S. Constitution: an Enlightenment document (see chart in textbook)
