Enlightenment

I.) The Scientific Revolution
A.) Medieval Cosmology and the Copernican Revolution
1.) Science of the 16th century remained based on the conclusions of Aristotle and Claudius Ptolemy
a.) Held a geocentric view of the universe
3 Principles Universe is spherical and finite
b.) Medieval thinkers integrate this cosmology into the Christian framework
Aristotle
Hierarchy of the natural world could only be observed by the naked eye
Sphere of Prime Mover, with the most powerful sphere in the center
A starting point
Ptolemy
The Roman Empire with Christianity not the dominant religion
Ptolemy’s Epicycles
Imperfect lines within the original model with orbits orbiting within each other
Population acceptance of the Aristotelian and Ptolemaic geocentric models
Not get an identified true reason for Earth to be the center
Thomas Aquinas
Confirms God’s existence and Man’s significance
Unmoved Mover
▪ God situated it in the center of the universe because only on Earth could salvation occur
Implies Christianity to be the original
2) Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) counter argues previously established models
a.) Formulates the Heliocentric Model
i. Sun stands at the center of the universe, and Earth and other planets move in circular orbits around it
ii. Earth is no longer the center of the cosmos
b.) On the Revolution of the Heavenly Spheres (1543)
Published theory in treatise
i. Critics claim his theory is illogical and un-Christian
All wanted to disprove the theory even protestants
ii. If Copernicus is correct, the Church and the Bible are wrong
Old models solidified Man’s significance was proven by Earth’s centricity and vise versa
Controversial to christianity, becoming a counterargument to scripture and testament and opening up the idea that more could be incorrect
iii. Remains only a theory because he does not have the instruments or the math to prove himself right
Still devoutly religious
Hoped the church would be the leading body of the scientific revolution, but the council of Trent would turn this down due to the current unstable time for Christianity
c.) Does not replace old astronomy but gives those with discontent for the Aristotelian/Ptolemaic view a new direction of thinking
3.) Tycho Brahe (1546-1601)
a.) Danish astronomer who builds a modern astronomy laboratory
i. Creates the most accurate body of measured observations pre-telescope
ii. Discoveries of new stars (1572) and a comet (1577) shatter beliefs in an unchanging sky
Geo-Heliocentric model
Both sort of in the center and moving
iii. Brahe bequeaths his precise calculations to future generations
4.) Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)
a.) New Astronomy (1609): uses mathematics to prove Heliocentric model
i. Laws of Planetary Motion

1st Law: Planets move in elliptical orbits, not circular ones
2nd Law: A planet’s velocity is not uniform but increases with its proximity to the sun and vice versa
3rd Law: The squares of the revolution of any two planets are proportional to the cubes of their mean distance from the sun
Believed in the idea of God being a divine Clockmaker
God isn’t an animated being instead he winds up the universe to be perfect and left it be
An idea of of the universe starting point
b.) Kepler’s laws provide foundations for Newton’s Laws of Gravity
5.) Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
a.) 1st to use a telescope; literally sees what others hypothesized about
i. Provides significant support for the heliocentric theory
Able to specifically pinpoint the geographical locations of planets
b.) Believed the Bible to be an unreliable source in terms of science
“The purpose of the Bible is to teach us how to go to heaven, not how heaven goes”
Later in research he continued his findings clear of theological questions, presenting the Copernican view as nothing more than a new idea that had equal standings with old ideas
Still religious, arguing the Copernican model does not contradict the bible
i. Dialogue on Two Chief Systems of the World (1632):
Earth rotates on its axis and revolves around the sun
The Inquisition condemned the dialogue, feeling as he poked fun at those who contradicted theories using only scripture
Patroned by Medicis
c.) Condemned by Catholic Church for heresy and tried by the Inquisition
i. Galileo’s trial silences Copernican voices in southern Europe, and the church’s leadership retreats into conservative reaction
Any Copernican-based writings go on the Index of Prohibited Books
ii. By the middle of the 17th century, the new science becomes an increasingly Protestant and northern European phenomenon
These areas are more open than the conservative catholic church as they fight against protestantism after the council of trent
Discovers some theories on inertia and gravity which Isaac will build on
6.) Isaac Newton (1642-1727)
Gives credits to earlier ideas which he builds on he builds on others' ideas
Splits the universe into a mathematical sequence of four parts
If it’s mathematical, it’s empirical and practical, and this means there is no such thing as miracles
Science allows alternatives to be imagined in everything from politics to relgion
Still religious and believes in God’s involvement in the universe
We cannot understand the mathematical reasons behind his creation, undermining that his creation is a miracle
a.) Formulates the concept of gravity
b.) Principia Mathematica (1687):
i. Refines the ideas of his predecessors
ii. Kepler’s 3 Laws of Planetary Motion become Newton’s Laws of Motion
iii. Planets and stars move as they do because of universal gravitation
The attraction of gravity explained why planets moved in an orderly rather than chaotic manner
God would never create someone chaotic
Explains why planets of different sizes and shapes are able to move at the same or different speeds
B.) Biology, Chemistry, and Medicine
1.) Advances also made in the biological sciences during the 16th and 17th centuries
2.) Andreas Vesalius
Roman times were against dissection as they believed it wasn’t supported by scripture
Many still unfamiliar with the true inner workings of the human body
a.) De Humani Corporis Fabrica (1543)
On the fabric of the human body in seven books
i. Dissection as a means of learning about anatomy
3.) William Harvey
Specialized in the circulatory system and disproving medieval methods of bloodletting and other ideas of fluids
a.) De Motu Cordis (1628)
Anatomical Account of the Motion of the Heart and Blood
i. Develops 1st complete theory of the circulation of blood
4.) Robert Boyle
a.) The Skeptical Chymist (1661)
i. Father of modern chemistry
ii. Distinction between chemical elements, chemical compounds, and chemical reactions
II.) Logic/Philosophy Responds to Science
A.) Scientists and philosophers begin to view the universe as governed by universal laws that can be discovered and tested using rational inquiry and experiment
1.) Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
scientist/philosopher or “Lord Chancellor of England”
Critiqued old philosophers due to their limitations from modern tools
Ideas that are now considered to be absolute truth should be verified with modern experimentation
Talks about the danger of wrong
a.) Seeks to move on from “antique past”
i. Classical world philosophers spent too much time in theory and not in observation
ii. Knowledge is secured by experience and data
Epistemology: branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge
Choose the guidance of experience not the authority of text
b.) Nova Organum (New Instrument/Method) (1620)
i. Proclaims epistemological authority of experimental science
ii. Establishes authority of observation in discovering the nature of the external world
iii. Intellectual fallacies/causes of human error
<br /> Idols of the Tribe
The projection of human experience in supernatural beings we could never begin to understandGod cannot be represented as human for he is divine and unable to be represented by
limits our ability to understand going beyond human experience
Idols of the Cave
Narrowed view based on individual and specific experiences
Information can vary from one to another viewpoint
Idols of the Marketplace
Gossip of masses of people
False phrases can be repeated by the mass public until many perceive it to be true even if they do not themselves have an opinion
Idols of the Theatre
Falselearning
Information defended by those deemed to be more prominent will be more accepted and less questioned by the mass
Most dangerous
iv. Solutions:
Table of Discovery: set of disciplined and systematic observations
Encourages those to do their own research and evidence to come to a conclusion and not base everything on old philosophers
Start with research and uncertainty, ending with a certainty
▪ Gradual expansion of Table leads to an understanding of specific laws
v. Formalizes the Empirical Method/Empiricism
Sensory data to answer questions
▪ Knowledge of this world comes only through the senses
Epistemology
Utilize inductive reasoning to find conclusions
▪ Gathering small pieces of information via experiments and drawing larger conclusions from them
▪ Amassing evidence from specific observations to draw general conclusions
2.) Rene Descartes (1596-1650)
a.) Founder of modern philosophy and 1st major modern figure in Rationalism or Philosophy of the Mind:
i. Method of understanding the world based on using reason as the means to attain knowledge
Uses the brain based on past experiences to create connections to things we haven’t experienced as opposed to experimentation
b.) Discourse on Method (1636)
Sensory data is false → I am real “I think therefore I am” → God is also real and He’s not tricking us about the world → Sensory data is real after all → becomes a mathmatician
i. Step 1 The Dream Argument: Renunciation of what he knows; all he knows is false or could be false
Perception and sensory data should be treated as false
▪ If we cannot trust our senses to convey true information about the world around us then we cannot trust the conclusions we have made on the grounds of that sense perception
ii. Step 2 Cartesian Dualism
Serperates the immaterial and rational soul/brain from the material body
Humans are both a res cogitans (thinking thing) and a res extensa (extended thing)
“Cogito ergo sum” (I think, therefore I am)
▪ The only thing real and trustworthy to answer his inquiries is his mind
▪ The very act of thinking provides proof of human existence; it would be impossible to think if one did not exist
step 3 Existence of God and Descartes’ final conclusion
▪ In order to have something finite and imperfect (Man), there must be something infinite and perfect (God)
▪ God guarantees clear and rational thinking because He is the original Cogito itself
▪ God’s existence means the physical world must be real, for no Creator would play such a cruel trick and invent a vast hoax
iii. Employs deductive reasoning to find conclusions
Use logic and reason to derive truth
c.) Modern Scientific Method uses both the inductive methods of Bacon and the Deductive method of Descartes
Induction vs Deduction
Induction- usually described as moving from the specific to the general
Empiricism
Deduction- begins with the general and ends with the specific
Rationalism
III.) Scientific Societies
A.) As interest in science mounts, scientific societies are organized to promote further research and spread scientific knowledge
Very wealthy patrons that gather a group together to advance science, impatient with the slow pace of universities who are still using medieval methods and not modern technology
B.) Societies were created because of growing frustration that Universities were slow to teach the New Science
1.) Lincean Academy, Rome (1603)
Galileo
2.) Academy of Experiment, Florence (1657)
Medicis major patrons
3.) Royal Society for Improving Natural Knowledge, London (1662)
Most famous
Patroned by Charles II
Boyle and Wren
4.) French Academy of Science, Paris (1666)
Colbert and Louis XIV
5.) Berlin Academy/Prussian Academy of Science, Berlin (1701)
Frederick I to Frederick II the Great
C.) Women in the Scientific Revolution
1.) Women were generally excluded from formal participation in scientific studies and universities
a.) Margaret Cavendish (1623-1673)
English aristocrat and a science fiction-writer
i. 1st female admitted to the Royal Society
ii. The Blazing World (1666):
Example of “proto-science fiction”
Concept of hollow earth
b.) Sophia Brahe (1559-1643)
i. Assisted her brother Tycho Brahe in making astronomical observations
Danish noble woman with knowledge of astronomy, chemistry, and medicine
c.) Maria Winkelmann/Kirch (1670-1720)
i. Husband’s (Gottfried Kirch) assistant at an astronomical observatory at the Berlin Academy
Denied attempt to assume husband's place as astronomer and calendar maker
German Astronomer
d.) Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717)
i. Observes insects and their metamorphoses

Results of the Scientific Revolution
Rivalries between universities and a replacement of old technology
Absolutism greatly affected
No longer considered a true form of government
Produced a vast amount of specific knowledge about the nature of the physical universe
it also demonstrated how all of nature operates
Political History
Absolutism
Constitutionalism
Enlightened Despots
Intellectual History
Newtonian Physics
The universe is less mysterious and God is less loving than before
Logic and Reason
Cultural History
Individualism or the value of independent thought/self-reliance
Social History
Increased literacy of all not just Nobles
Äge of Aristocracy
Scientific societies created
Economic History
Mercantilism to Capitalism

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II) The Enlightenment (1700-1800)
Religion vs Politics
Religion- “Faith in reason over revelation” ; Deism and PantheismPolitics- Political theory of State of Nature and the Social Contract
A) 18th century intellectual and philosophical movement creating a new and more secular world view

Idea that logic/reason and natural science can answer all questions
B) Religion
John Toland (1670-1772)
Christianity Not Mysterious (1696)
a) Deism: God as a “divine watchmaker,” does not get involved
i) Universe is run by natural law, so religion should be rational and not superstitious
ii) Break with Newton who wasn’t convinced that God didn’t get involved
Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677)
Ethics (1677) to refute descartes
Rationalist philosopher criticized by monotheistic christians for his unpopular religion
Pantheism: God is everything and everything is God; one substance
The world, nature, and universe are identical with God and in some way a self-expression of God’s nature
God is the substance (Inner being or essence)
Humans and everything else are modes (the expression)
There is no good or evil
Error is in projecting man criteria onto a completely objective inverse
God is indifferent to individuals
God is without passion of emotion and is unable to feel love to those who love him, thus one should not expect love in return or theirs
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)
Pensées (1670)
Attempts to reconnect or reconcile science with religion
Pascal’s Wager: How to make people believe in God until they truly believe in it
It is a better “bet” to believe that God exists then not the believe because the expected value of believing (salvation) is always greater than the expected value of not believing
If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing
If at first it is difficult to believe, follow the rituals: bless oneself with holy water, go to Mass, go to confession, receive communion, etc., and it will quiet the proudly critical intellect
Mass targets of superstition
Women
Physically weaker than men so spiritually more sectional to the influence of demons
Widows
Didn’t have a husband to protect her from demons
Weird
Early political philosophers

State of Nature and Social Contract
State of Nature: a condition of anarchy or constant state of war where humans live in fear of one another
Social Contract: agreements made to maintain social order
Thomas Hobbes
Born during the time of the Spanish armada filled with many heavy hitters of political rulers and absolute rulers
Provided proof against democracy and people power
Humans by nature are “brutish”
We are all deathly afraid of death and in the state of nature we are going to live in a horrible life
Our notion is towards things we want like safety, status, and items
Always in a Constant Condition of Warre due to our notion, where everyone moves away from death to fight over want’s
Leviathan or Absolutism

a.) Leviathan (1651):
i. The sovereign monarch is the “leviathan” (could also be a sovereign assembly)
ii. People give up enough of their power to “leviathan” so that it has sufficient power to protect them
“Surrender of sovereignty”

Allegiance to “leviathan” lasts only as long as it can protect them
Implies that bad Levithan should be replaced with another, but he is afraid to mention rebellion. For if there is written form and the idea of rebellion then the people will expect and want it
iii. Absolutism is the only right form of government based on the human’s brutish nature
Minimizes discord, disagreement, and factionalism, all things that lead to civil war and destruction of society
The absolute ruler incorporates the mass of individuals. Their self-interests are best served by a willing consent to accept and cooperate with him
Only under security can civilization filled with technological and cultural advancements will form

3.) John Locke (1632-1704)
Human Nature
Humans by nature are a blank slate (tabula rasa)
a.) Essay Concerning Human Understanding: Theory of Tabula Rasa
i. Individual human beings are born with no innate ideas
ii. All knowledge is built up gradually from their experiences and sensory perceptions of the outside world
b.) Two Treatises of Civil Government: (1690)
i. People in the state of nature are generally equal and good
when government fails to provide basic rights you are able to overthrow that government
Constitutional government
State of nature is unnatural, an example being the ability of adam to kill eve in the Garden of Eden but realizing her usefulness to him creating a better life for both
Coming together promotes life
ii. People create a social contract and form a government to protect their natural rights to life, liberty, and property
Rebellion is necessary when the government fails to provide these natural rights
Glorious Revolution influenced his works
D.) The Philosophes
Attempt to translate philosophy into social and political action
Before 1700, the belief in innovation through rational criticism belonged to only a few pioneering thinners.
With the Enlightenment, it comes to characterize Western society
Newton for Intellectual, England for government and political, and Locke for Psychological
Critical of absolute France

1.) Voltaire/ Francois Marie Arouet (1694-1778)
Constitutional Monarchy
a.) Letters on the English (1733):
i. Contrasts English political liberty and intellectual independence with French “tyranny and bondage”
Constitutionalism vs Absolutism
ii. Condemns French aristocracy, royalty, and clergy for using the Bastille as answer to every question and every doubt
iii. Urges French middle class to rise and take proper place in state as middle class had done in England
iv. Letters are the 1st sparks of the French Revolution
b.) People are incapable of governing themselves and need a benevolent despot (benevolent form of absolutism-Enlightened Despotism) to govern them
Foundation of constitutionalism
Able to make people loyal by using his power for the good of them
Humans are selfish in nature and thus a democracy is an unattainable dream

2.) Baron de Montesquieu (Charles-Louis de Secondat (1689-1755)
Noble
a.) Opponent of the unbridled absolutism of French Kings
b.) Favored England’s constitutional monarchy, but believes there is no single ideal political system
i. Different systems were appropriate for different places depending on population, economic system, social and religious traditions
c.) Spirit of the Laws (1748)
i. Separation of powers into 3 branches
ii. Checks and balances system
iii. Impact on the American and French Constitutions

3.) Denis Diderot (1713-1784)
a.) Compiles/edits the Encyclopédie (1751-1772)
i. Series of publications by various Enlightenment authors
ii. Publicizes challenges against France’s Old Regime authorities (royalty, clergy, nobility) (against absolute french government)
Gathers all knowledge together so the decedents can understand
Louis de Jaucourt (1704-1778)
French scholar and most prolific contributor to the Encyclopedie
In the 1700s, the volume of printed material drastically increased throughout all of Europe, most notably in Britain
The eighteenth century was a time when great numbers of Europeans learned to read and write for the first time
More people in Urban areas so they had higher percentages of Literacy

4.) Cesare Beccaria (1738-1794)
a.) On Crimes and Punishment (1764)
i. 1st complete work of penology

Subdivision of criminology dealing with philosophy and practice of repressing criminal activities
ii. Advocates reform of criminal law system
Purpose of laws is to guarantee happiness for as many human beings as possible
Utilitarianism
Laws should be clear in defining crimes so judges do not interpret law but only decide whether a law has been broken
Clear and concise
The crime should be equal to the punishment
Treason is the most serious crime followed by violence against another person
Punishment should reflect the nature of the crime in regards to its harmon society
▪ Punishment based on act/not the actor
Punishment should be prompt
Opposes “barbarous” punishment
▪ Punishment should be preventive not retributive
▪ Certainty of punishment over severity of punishment
▪ Punishment should focus on criminal’s rehabilitation
Abolish torture to obtain confessions
Confess to alleviate pain
Abolish death penalty
▪ State does not possess right to take lives
Can only be done by god
Enlightened despotism agreed with his ideas and many abolished torture and some the death penalty
iii. Reward virtue and improve education to dissuade someone from committing crimes (crime becomes an illogical choice)
Teach them when they are young and convince them growing up that crimes are illogical
5.) Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)
a.) The Social Contract (1762):
i. Man in the state of nature is blessed with total freedom (physically & emotionally)
Noble savages
ii. Modern man’s enslavement to his own “needs” is responsible for all societal ills
Needs will constantly grow, the more you convince yourself you need those needs the more unhappy you will be
Society is bound together and shaped by the pursuit of these unnecessary needs
The first unnecessary need is property
The very idea of possession excites men’s passions and provokes conflict
This in turn leads to a demand for a system of law to impose order and tranquility
Against civil society
Artificial need= artificial greed
iii. Modern man is inauthentic
Appears to be something more than actually be something
Man in the state of nature can simply “be,” while modern man must “appear” to be
You appear to be something else instead of actually being something
“Man is born free (noble savage), and he is everywhere in chains.”
When you join civil society multiple chains will be thrown on you to weight you down and make you inauthentic and unhappy which will only get heavier
Don’t throw on unnecessary chains upon the ones you will have by default
iv. The General Will
Rousseau believe he could show it was possible for men to be at once free and members of a political society
The will of the sovereign (all the people together) aiming for the common good – what is best for the state
What is best for everyone's what is best for you
Individual wills combine to the general will
It is not calculated by any mathematical formula but emerges organically
Laws will record what people collectively desire, and are universally applicable to all members (no one above the law)
The government’s function is to enforce and respect the wishes of the general will
The general will is always right
▪ Obedience to it is an act of freedom
▪ Violators of the law or general will are “forced to be freed
Force to realize his fault and the force realizes how he is free
v. The Social Contract goes unfinished and Rousseau never explains which type of government actually works best
Some assume he favors democracy or a republic based on his explanation of freedom
Emphasizes the freed
Others assume he favors totalitarianism based on his explanation of force
Democracy is too divine to be suited for men
The spirit of people reside in the enlightened minority, who have the right to act for the political advantage
Emphasizes the forced
vi. The ambiguity of Rousseau’s “General Will” leads to charismatic leaders making “sense” of it
b.) Emile, or On Education (1762)
i. Fostering a Natural education
Create people to do confide to the general wll
Everything is learned through the lens of people’s interests
Education free of society's corruption as the cure for artificiality
c.) Ideas come together
i. Rousseau views his works as complementary to one another
Relation of Emile and Social Contract: Only a community of Emiles could make the good society a reality
d.) No Enlightenment philosopher is more dangerous to the Old Regime than Rousseau is
i. His ideas are a direct challenge to power of kings, churches, and aristocrats
Originally those institutions told you what you needed to do, but now the general will could differ from those totalitarian institutions
6.) David Hume (1711-1776)
British Empiricist
Comes to conclusions by collecting data from life experiences
a.) Religious Morality vs. Moral Utility
i. Advocates a system of morality based on utility instead of God’s authority or will
James Cook- British Explorer and Captain
Explored polynesian areas and through their native populations is able to come to a realization on the importance of religion over human nature
Comes to the conclusion that humankind is able to get morals and civilization from utility instead of supernatural religion
Morals appeal to us because they promote our interests and those of our fellow human beings, with whom we sympathize
Morality appeals to humans due to sympathy
Inclined to support whatever helps society because we are members of that community
“Psychologizing” Morality
Maximizing utility
Religious laws are unnecessary
ii. Hume attacks religious ideas:
Rejects Judeo-Christian God as a product of fear and superstition
Rejects Deist God arguing an orderly universe can be a natural condition and does not need a designing mind to create it
Skepticism
Going against the public opinion of the time
7.) Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)
a.) Answering the Question: What Is Enlightenment? (1784)
i. Enlightenment is synonymous with intellectual freedom and maturity
Immaturity is self-inflicted, not from lack of understanding
Immaturity is from the lack of courage to express one’s own ideas rather than echoing the thoughts of others
Sapere aude (Dare to know/Dare to speak)
Majority of people are content with following guiding societal institutions (church and monarchy)
Hobbes
ii. Reason removes chains of mental immaturity
Chains of Rousseau
b.) Categorical Imperatives
Laws categorize what must be done in society
i. If we are to be virtuous, we must do what is moral and not what comes as a natural impulse
Kant vs Hume
Hume- morality in human foundation comes from natural impulses which is rooted in utility (we only think about ourselves)
Kant- (foundation of morality in human nature is rooted in man’s rational nature (PICTURE)
Compares us to animals
If you are better than an animal you can know what is right and wrong, allowing for us to rise above this natural or animalistic nature
ii. Using reason we follow compulsory rules or categorical imperatives
“One should only act on a principle that one can will to be universal law”
Everyone takes universal principle as fact, thus good laws should be the ones everyone should universally agree on
Stealing and Murder in all circumstances even in self-defense is wrong
One’s sense of right and wrong will go over anything and can never be abandoned
E.) Economic Philosophers
Economic History connects to the Cultural history
1.) Laissez-faire or capitalist economic system
a.) Francois Quesnay (1694-1774)
i. Physiocrat and advocate of laissez-faire
Individualist control over personal economics
ii. Opponents of mercantilism
Extremely restrictive
Isn't an effective system because it only benefits certain people
How do you measure the wealth of a nation when the only people benefitted are monarchs, government officials/nobles, and joint-stock companies
Wealthy people bought most of the shares of a joint-stock company so they made the most money over others
How is it reflective of the wealth of an entire nation when only a select few count up to the wealth
iii. Believed primary goal of government was to protect property and permit owners to use it freely
Locke
Classes of Economics
“Proprietary class” → Landowners
Only consumes food and craft, producing no product
The only ones that should be taxed due to their lack of labor and non thereof of wealth
“Productive class” → Agricultural Laborers
Most important for if it is taken out everything else falls apart
Produces food on land leased from a landlord, consumes what he needs, sells what is remaining, and purchases non-farm goods from artisans and merchants
Productive work was the source of nation wealth due to other classes dependence on them
Wants to benefit these people by giving them less mercantilist restrictions
“Sterile class” → Artisans and Merchants
Uses the money made by selling their crafts to buy raw materials for future production
Stuck where they are and reliant on others due to a lack of permanent property
b.) Adam Smith (1723-1790) “Father of Capitalism”
i. Wealth of Nations (1776)
Favors individual freedom to pursue one’s own economic interests
▪ “Invisible Hand”: An individual pursuing his best interest promotes the good of the community
▫ The free market, while appearing chaotic and unrestrained, is guided to produce the right amount and variety of goods
They all point in the same direction of yourself and one’s goodness is always controlled by self interest
▪ Law of Competition: the competitive market system compels producers to be increasingly efficient, and to respond to desires of consumers
Nation’s wealth depends on the productivity of its farmers, artisans and factory workers and mercantilism puts too many restrictions on them
Government should act only to protect the life, liberty, and property of the people
ii. Significantly contributes to economic philosophy of Classical Liberalism
Locke
F.) Women in the Enlightenment
1.) Most women of the period were not well-educated but learned by listening to ideas of male intellectuals
2.) Salon Movement
a.) Gatherings of intellectuals where women were empowered because they often chose the guests
i. Madame de Geoffren (1699-1777):
Corresponds with Catherine the Great and Empress Maria Theresa
Holds two dinners a week; Monday for artists, Wednesday for readers of the Encyclopédie
ii. Françoise-Louise de Warens (1699-1762)
Teacher and mistress of Rousseau
iii. Julie de Lespinasse (1732-1776)
Salon holder and writer
iv. Suzanne Necker (1737-1794)
Hosts salons to discuss art, literature, and politics
b.) Later Women of the Enlightenment
i. Germaine de Staël (1766-1817)
Writer and political theorist
▪ Exiled after criticism of Napoleon
Napoleon looked at Rome in a very high light but women were not viewed very highly in those times
ii. Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797)
A Vindication of the Rights of Women (1792)
▪ Early work of feminism
▫ Women are not inferior to men but appear to be, because women lack education
▫ Attacks Rousseau’s idea of women only be educated for men’s pleasure
Biological Determinism
Is your role determined in society biologically
Biological determined to be a mother
▪ Accepts women’s 1st and foremost duty is to be a good mother, but advocated women should be able to decide what is in their best interests
G.) Judaism and Islam in Enlightenment Thought
1.) Like Christianity, Judaism is effected by Enlightenment thought
2.) Moses Mendelssohn “Jewish Socrates” (1729-1786)
Trying to balance how much of scripture is a literal guidpoint of how to live with enlightenment ideas conflicting with your beliefs
a.) Most prominent figure in the Jewish Enlightenment (Haskalah השכלה(
b.) Jerusalem, or on Religious Power and Judaism (1783)
i. Force may be used by the state to control actions only; thoughts are uninfringeable by any authority
ii. Governments should be religiously neutral
Neutrality ensures religious diversity does not harm loyalty to government
Religious Toleration
c.) Seeks to combine Judaism with Enlightenment rationalism
i. Reason could discover the reality of God, immortality of the soul, etc.
ii. Seeks to bring secular culture to Jews living an Orthodox life in ghettos (Jewish quarter of a city)
Decartes
Jewish laws and practices are intended for moral benefit of Jewish community as where other religions provide the same for other communities
Jews can maintain their distinction but can also be part of the larger European community
Needs to maintain the balance where scriptures are used as guidelines morally but still can embrace the enlightenment and modern ideas/science
3.) Judaism and Islam viewed in a negative light
a.) Voltaire advocated Western Europe model itself off of Classical Greece and Rome
i. Jews were “Asiatic” and former slaves outside of the Classical world
ii. Christians could be transformed into good citizens because they were ethnically European
b.) Volatire’s Fanaticism, or Mahomet the Prophet (1736)
i. Assault on moral character of Muhammad during Siege of Mecca (629)
ii. Cites Islam as another example of religious fanaticism
4.) Judaism and Islam viewed in a positive light
a.) Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781)
i. Nathan the Wise (1779)
Play themes include:
▪ Tolerance
▪ Relativism of God
Their faiths are able to connect over certain beliefs
▪ Rejection of miracles (Enlightenment/Deism)
A need for communication between faiths
If you communicate then you can see the similarities you have with other beliefs
All faiths are intertwined somehow and related