The Enlightenment Era

The Enlightenment Era

  • Concept of the Enlightenment era
    • New social and political philosophy
    • Coffee Houses as social hubs
    • Emergence of Global Capitalist Economy focusing on pleasurable products

Long-Term Background Causes of Science/Enlightenment

  • European interaction with Muslim scholars
  • Exploration and Examination of Stars
    • Importance of new information about previously unknown species due to the Columbian Exchange
  • Impact of the Protestant Reformation
    • Encouraged questioning of authority
  • Rise of New Global Commerce
    • Transition from slave-produced cash crops to new wealth
    • Initiation of capitalism and a change in cultural values
  • Emergence of the bourgeoisie/middle class
  • Development of Institutions of Civil Society
    • Coffee houses as a reflection of rising literacy and community discussions

Cash Crops and Capitalism

  • Overview of Cash Crops
    • Farmed on plantations for profit
    • Key crops:
    • Sugar (originally from India)
    • Coffee (from Ethiopia)
    • Cotton (from South Asia and Mexico)
    • Indigo (for dye, from India)
    • Tobacco (from America)
    • Rice (from China)
  • Definition of Capitalism
    • Economic system designed for profit by the capitalist owner of property
    • Developed through the production of crops using enslaved people

Coffee in European Society

  • Bourgeois (middle class) families enjoying coffee
  • Christiaan Huygens: Inventor of the pendulum clock (1656)
  • Coffee’s role in public discourse and civil society
  • Historical coffee house statistics:
    • First London coffee house established in 1652
    • By 1700, there were approximately 2000 coffee houses in England
    • First Paris café opened in the late 1600s
    • First Berlin coffee house opened in 1714

Concept of Civil Society through Coffee Houses

  • Understanding the early formation of the "public sphere" and "civil society"
  • Review of arguments in "Coffee Vindicated"
  • New institutions of civil society: Libraries
    • Increased literacy rates:
    • England: 60% men and 40% women literate
    • France: 50% men and 25% women literate
  • Impact of the Scientific Revolution and creation of Academies on literacy

Gender Exclusion and Participation in Discussions

  • Discussion on the exclusion of women from coffee houses
  • Exploration of women's participation through:
    • Salons as private social gatherings led by salonnières
  • Critique of salonnieres by Molière in "The Learned Ladies" (1672)

Music and Art Reflecting Coffee Culture

  • Johann Sebastian Bach: Coffee Cantata (1732)
    • Dialogue excerpts:
    • Schlendrian (Dad): “You stubborn child, you wicked girl, Oh, when shall I have my way? Give up coffee!”
    • Lieschen (Daughter):
      “My father, don’t be so severe. If I can’t drink my cup of coffee three times a day, I shall, to my distress become like a dried-up goat-steak. Oh, how sweetly tastes the coffee…”

Rise of Scientific Rationalization

  • The Enlightenment's reliance on rational thought and the scientific method
  • Outgrowth of scientific explorations in the 17th-18th centuries
  • Creation of the Encyclopedia by Diderot and D’Alembert (1751)
    • Defined as a “rational dictionary of sciences, arts, and crafts.”

The New Scientific Method

  • Key elements of the new scientific method:
    • Careful cataloguing
    • Observation of the natural world
    • Use of reason and mathematical principles for analysis
    • Experimentation in scientific fields:
    • First focus on Astronomy
    • Second focus on Anatomy

Historical Scientific Perspectives

  • Medieval views on natural phenomena linked to religion and God
  • Aristotle and Ptolemy's Geocentric Universe Theory:
    • Detailed description of the system and components.
  • Contribution of Muslim Astronomers through the Silk Road
    • Advancements in scientific knowledge and departure from geocentric theory
    • Use of astrolabe for sea navigation

Revolutionary Heliocentric Theory

  • Nicolaus Copernicus:
    • Introduction of the Heliocentric universe model in 1545
  • Johannes Kepler (1571-1630):
    • Discoveries of Elliptical orbits of planets

Galileo's Contributions and Challenges

  • Innovation of the telescope (1609) based on existing Dutch designs
  • Observation capabilities of planets and the Milky Way
  • Separation of science from philosophy and religion
  • Galileo's trials (1616, 1632) leading to house arrest for "suspicion of heresy"

Public Popularization of Astronomy

  • Anecdote on women in Paris whose interest in geometry influenced marriage proposals

Advances in Anatomy

  • Public dissections gained popularity
  • Context of diseases in Europe by 1600; 25% of Europe infected with Syphilis from the Columbian Exchange

Science Enlightening Society

  • Application of reason to humanity and societal studies during the 18th century
    • Critique of tyranny
    • Ideas replacing authoritarian governance with a just government protecting citizens' rights

Immanuel Kant's Definition of Enlightenment

  • Kant on Enlightenment (1784):
    • Defined as man's transition from self-caused immaturity due to reliance on others
    • Advocated for courage to use one's own intelligence
    • Emphasized the importance of public use of reason

Critique of Church and Absolutism

  • Voltaire (1694-1778):
    • Wrote "Treatise on Tolerance" (1763)
    • Critiques of religion and authority with memorable quotes like "Crush the damned thing."
  • Context of Absolutism under Louis XIV's reign 1643-1715

Enlightenment Concepts

  • Exploration of key Enlightenment concepts:
    • Scientific method
    • Laws of human nature based on observation, analysis, and reasoning
    • Philosophy of natural rights and liberti
      e.s
    • Progress and the pursuit of happiness
    • Concept of citizenship as a social contract between state and citizen

Cesare Beccaria's Reform on Punishment

  • Noted work "On Punishment" (1764)
    • Advocacy against cruel and unusual punishment
    • Arguments for abolishing the death penalty

Separation of Powers by Montesquieu

  • Foundation of separation of powers into executive, judiciary, and legislative branches
    • Basis for the US governmental system with President, Supreme Court, and Congress.

Rousseau’s Social Contract

  • Jean-Jacques Rousseau's principles in "The Social Contract" (1762):
    • Concept of general will and popular sovereignty
    • Notable quote: "Man was born free; everywhere he is in chains."
    • Discussion of the civil state replacing natural impulses with justice and morality

The Concept of the Citizen

  • Transition from subjects to active political participants
    • Terminology around rights, popular sovereignty, nation
    • Emphasis on social contract among citizens forming their government

Exclusion of Women from Enlightenment Effects

  • Examination of women's roles highlighted in the Enlightenment Encyclopedia entry:
    • Described women as ornaments but not full citizens; restrictions on property ownership.

Rousseau’s View on Gender Roles

  • In "Emile" (1762), Rousseau argued for differentiated education for women preparing them for domestic roles
    • Quote: "…A perfect man and a perfect woman ought no more to resemble each other…"

Women’s Rights Advocacy

  • Mary Wollstonecraft: "A Vindication of the Rights of Women" (1792)
  • Olympe de Gouges: "The Declaration of the Rights of the Woman and the Citizen" (1791)

Kant’s Racism

  • Comments by Kant on race, suggesting superiority of the white race,
    • Labeled other races, particularly black and indigenous, as lesser-evolved.

Transformation of Europe through the Enlightenment

  • Exploration of how the Enlightenment reshaped societal structures and practices in Europe.

Catherine the Great as an Enlightened Despot

  • Overview of Catherine’s reforms:
    • Coup against her husband Peter the Great
    • Legal code reforms inspired by Montesquieu and Beccaria
    • Initiatives to expand education and promote arts
    • Expansion of serfdom to Ukraine.