Modernity/CH 202 2/13 Midterm Flashcards

Midterm on 2/13

“But we see that nothing more than that has been shown, and it does not follow that the Earth must rest at the center of the world.”

This is “On the Revolutions of Heavenly Spheres” by Copernicus. In the work, this was a summary of his scientific findings. It connects to the them quite revolutionary and had to be kept hidden for a long time because this teaching went against the church. It separated Earth from some heavenly divinely created thing to just another ball in the universe, showcasing that we are not the most important thing in the world.

“any one may know with the certainty that is due to the use of our senses, that the Moon certainly does not possess a smooth and polished surface, but one rough and uneven, and, just like the face of the Earth itself, is everywhere full of vast protuberances, deep chasms, and sinuosities.”

This is “The Sidereal Messenger” by Galileo.

“All this does not sound very bad but who cares? They don't wear pants.”

This was “Of Cannibals” by Montaigne. He’s trying to say that the people he met are very much like us. He’s making fun of people for calling others uncivilized for just their dress, when there are many qualities within them that are valuable. He criticizes the tendency to put humans in hierarchies, as one is lesser than the other especially compared to white European.s He critiques the rationality of thinking being who judges everyone equally, making his point of view seem reasonable while judgment is irrational. In the text, this quote concluded the work with his signature with a witty note.

“Enlightenment is man's emergence from his self-incurred immaturity. . . . The motto of enlightenment is therefore: Sapere aude! Have courage to use your own understanding!”

Immanuel Kant, What is Enlightenment

“An invisible hand”

Adam Smith. Foundational writing for establishment of government. You let people kind of do what they want, motivated by economic self-interests and money, the invisible hand of the market will make things happen smoothly with some oversight. The theme is rationality, that the market will act predictably if the people will . Optimism as well, since he presumes the market will just work. Laissez-faire. If they let go, things will just work out. Letting individuals act, then it will make good outcomes. Tight control and authority isn’t necessary.

“the sovereign has only three duties to attend to . . . thirdly, the duty of erecting and maintaining certain public works and public institutions”

Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations

“Chapter 2. No Innate Principles in the Mind”

John Locke, an essay on human understanding

“To understand political power right, and derive it from its original, we must consider, what state all men are naturally in, and that is, a state of perfect freedom to order their actions, and dispose of their possessions and persons, as they think fit, within the bounds of the law of nature, without asking leave, or depending upon the will of any other man.”

John Locke, treatises of government

“For by art is created that great LEVIATHAN called a COMMONWEALTH, or STATE, in Latin, CIVITAS, which is but an artificial man, though of greater stature and strength than the natural, for whose protection and defence it was intended”

Hobbes, Leviathan. He’s in favor of fear as a control, it keeps people in line. One of the things they fear is the Leviathan, the sea monster, the artificial man, the state, a strong punitive government that will keep people in line. It deters. This prioritizes authority having quite a strong grasp on individuals, it’s also quite pessimistic since fear needs to be the driving factor in order for people to act accordignly. In the essay, this is the conclusion he draws and is a deterrence mechanism to keep people in line.

“Heresy . . . denounced social hierarchies, private property and the accumulation of wealth, and it disseminated among the people a new, revolutionary conception of society that, for the first time in the Middle Ages, redefined every aspect of daily life (work, property, sexual reproduction, and the position of women)”

Federici, Caliban and the Witch

“Today, little is known about the many heretic sects that for more than three centuries flourished among the ‘lower classes’ in Italy, France, the Flanders, and Germany, in what undoubtedly was the most important opposition movement of the Middle Ages. This is largely due to the ferocity with which they were persecuted by the Church, which spared no effort to erase every trace of their doctrines.”

Federici, caliban and the witch

“Those who are given to lust, the devil has power over them.”

Kramer and Sprenger, Malleus Maleficarum

“For the present our object is only to adduce actual facts and examples which have been found by us, or have been written by others in detestation of so great a crime, to substantiate those former arguments in case they should be difficult for anyone to understand; and, by those things that are related in this Second Part, to bring back to the Faith and away from their error those who think there are no witches, and that no witchcraft can be done in the world.”

Kramer and Sprenger, Malleus Maleficarum

“Scientific knowledge is thus presented as a terminology that gives an accurate and critically tested description of reality; and magic is presented as antithetical to such science.”

Kenneth Burke and Rhetoric and Primitive Magic

“They raise the objection that the interpretation of the Scriptures belongs to no one except the pope”

Luther, Open Letter to Christian Nobility

“The proper way to keep idols [flaws in thinking] at bay and to drive them off is, no doubt, to form ideas and axioms by true induction.”

Bacon, New organon

“I sent two men inland to learn if there were a king or great cities. They travelled three days' journey, finding an infinity of small hamlets and people without number, but nothing of importance.”

Columbus, Letter to King Ferdinand of Spain

“O, ye nominal Christians! might not an African ask you, learned you this from your God? who says unto you, Do unto all men as you would men should do unto you?”

Equiano, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Equiano. Critiqued rational enlightenment thinking under the guise of Christianity, who preach this yet enslave Africans. It is pessimistic and quite angry at their hypocrisy.

“When [Africans] come among Europeans, they are ignorant of their language, religion, manners and customs. Are any pains taken to teach them these? Are they treated as men? Does not Slavery itself depress the mind”

Equiano, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olundah Equiano

“waste neither your time nor money, but make the best use of both.”

Franklin, Advice to a Young Tradesman. Optimism under an economic system that values time

“The passion caused by the great and sublime in nature, when those causes operate most powerfully, is astonishment: and astonishment is that state of the soul in which all its motions are suspended, with some degree of horror.”

Ed burke, Philosophical Inquiry into the Origin of Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful

“If it be true that the temper of the mind and the passions of the heart are extremely different in different climates, the laws ought to be in relation both to the variety of those passions and to the variety of those tempers.”

Montesquieu, Spirit of Laws

“I am a good deal inclined to believe Mr. Hobbes, that the state of nature is a state of war; but thence I conclude human nature not rational, if the word reason means common sense, as I suppose it does. I have a great many admirable arguments to support this reflection; but I won't trouble you with them, but return, in a plain style, to the history of my travels.

Lady Montagu, Turkish Embassy Letters. Critcizing rationality and emphasizing individualism, doing things for yourself instead of relying on other authority to learn and understand.

“Now, as in the Ideas of God there is an infinite number of possible universes, and as only one of them can be actual, there must be a sufficient reason for the choice of God, which leads Him to decide upon one rather than another.”

Libneiz, The Monadology. He creates an elaborate justification for the beliefs that he has, even mathematical. He tries to put math into language. This contributes to the theme of rationality, he tries his best to justify his belief of God and faith, that we are special. Logically, god has chosen this possible world to be the best of all possible worlds. He tries to logically prove the existence of God’s love. He attempts to put rational principles to justify why the things the way they are.

“‘All is well, the heirs of the dead will increase their fortunes, masons will make money rebuilding the buildings, beasts feed off the bodies buried in the debris: this is the necessary effect of the necessary causes; your particular misfortune is nothing, you will contribute to the general welfare’”

Voltaire, Lisbon 1755 The Earth Shook. We have free will, we can use it to prevent things like this. Critique of attitude at the time. Optimisitc. It’s bad at the moment, but things will get better.

“time might be measured by ‘a rice-cooking’ (about half an hour) or ‘the frying of a locust’ (a moment).”

Thompson, Time, Work, and Industrial Capitalism. Time used to be measured differently pre-modernity, now time can be exchanged for money. No longer is it measured by the tasks being done, instead by numbers. The significance of this quote to the text is to compare the differences of pre-modern time-taking and modern time-taking, the former being a more loose interpretation of time.

“Thus Richard Palmer of Wokingham (Berks) gave, in 1664, lands in trust to pay the sexton to ring the great bell for half an hour every evening at eight o'clock and every morning at four o'clock . . . so that strangers and others within sound of the bell on winter nights ‘might be informed of the time of night, and receive some guidance into their right way.’ These ‘rational ends,’ he conceived, ‘could not but be well liked by any discreet person, the same being done and well approved of in most of the cities and market-towns, and many other places in the kingdom.’”

Thompson, Time, Work, and Industrial Capitalism.

“Only the lucrative and honorary positions are held by members of the privileged order . . . nevertheless they have dared lay the order of the third estate under an interdict. They have said to it: ‘Whatever be your services, whatever your talents, you shall go thus far and no farther. It is not fitting that you be honored.’”

Sieyes, The Third Estate

“My name is perhaps known to you. I have undertaken to avenge you. I want liberty and equality to reign throughout St. Domingue. I am working toward that end. Come and join me, brothers, and combat by our side for the same cause.”

Toussiant Lobeture, Four Letters. Arguing for individuals fighting over authority, hierarchy is terrible. Power of revolution, taking things into your own hands.

“Woman is born free and remains equal to man in her rights. Social distinctions can be based only upon the common utility.”

De Gouges, Declaration of the Rights of Women and the Female Citizen. Gender equality. Women deserve same rights as men and social distinctions of common utility. Individual work ethic should be valued, not sex.

“Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be founded only upon

the general good.”

Declaration of Rights of Man, no author. In the spirit of equality, people wrote it together.

“Men...act in a very unphilosophical manner when they try to secure the good conduct of women by attempting to keep them in a state of childhood”

Mary Wollstonecraft, Vindication of the Rights of Women.

“Weakness may excite tenderness, and gratify the arrogant pride of man; but the lordly caresses of a protector will not gratify a noble mind that pants for and deserves to be respected. Fondness is a poor substitute for friendship!”

Wollstonecraft, Vindication of the Rights of Women

“So far as the existing evidence, I say, of former literature can be interpreted, the storm-cloud—or more accurately plague-cloud, for it is not always stormy—which I am about to describe to you, never was seen but by now living, or lately living eyes.”

The storm cloud of the 19th century, Ruskin. Early observation of the effects of the Industrial Revolution. Critcism of the pollution and industrliazion and its effects, lack of regulation.

“[The bourgeoisie] has accomplished wonders far surpassing Egyptian pyramids, Roman aqueducts, and Gothic cathedrals”

Marx and Engels, Manifesto of the Communist Party

“All that is solid melts into air”

Marx and Engels, working class not connected to work, everything that we could grasp pre-industrial becomes ephemeral. Theme of individualism and how this style of work isn’t good for the mind, just pushing paper, no actual effort yet being drained by the society that makes you work in order to have a home and food. People are removed from their connections to their work. No more concrete relations with other people, capitalism tends to do away with tradition. Stability is melting, work you dont even know what you’re building.

“Now, for the first time, therefore, the proletariat was in a position to undertake an independent government.”

Engels, The Condition of the Working Class of England

“With all the responsibilities of family comfort and social enjoyment resting upon them, and unaided by those troops of menials who throng the halls of the affluent and the great, they are kept alive to the necessity of making their own personal exertions conducive to the great end of promoting the happiness of those around them”

Ellis, The Women of England: Their Social Duties and Domestic Habits