lesson 8 communication

Study of Human Communication during the Enlightenment

• Focus on science's rise and rhetoric's decline.

The Age of Enlightenment (17th – 19th Centuries)

• Geographic Focus: England, France, United States, Scotland

• Significant Movement: Scientific Revolution; rise of the scientific method; anti-monarchy sentiments.

• Philosophical Focus: Epistemology, addressing how humans learn and know.

• Key Figures: René Descartes (Rationalism), John Locke (Empiricism).

René Descartes (1596-1650)

• Rejected rhetoric; emphasized knowledge from reason and self-evident propositions.

• Contributions: Innovations in math and analytic geometry.

John Locke (1632-1704)

• Stressed observation and experience; highlighted language's ambiguity.

• Key Work: An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690); famous for the quote: "No man’s knowledge here can go beyond his experience."

Understanding Knowledge

• Descartes advocated rationality; senses can deceive.

• Locke valued sensory perception and direct experience.

Ultimate Questions

• Examined the role of Scientific Rationalism, objectivity vs. subjectivity, and the debate on the superiority of the natural sciences over the humanities.