NCHS AP English Language

1.2 Enlightenment Stuff Felicia Stasny

1.2 Ideas of the Enlightenment
A. commonly denoted as a historical intellectual movement
B. advocated Reason as a means to establishing a reliable system of aesthetics,
ethics, and logic.
C. Leaders of this movement were perceived to be “prophets” of a sort which
promised to lead the whole out of the Dark Ages
1. Dark Ages: time of wavering tradition, tyranny, irrationality and
Superstition
D. Stimulated the rise of socialism and liberalism
E. Enlightenment was part of a time in which empirical philosophical ideas, and their application to political economy, government and sciences such as physics, chemistry and biology, were on a continual rise

Wikiepedia ^ https://www.wsu.edu/~brians/hum_303/enlightenment.html

Another source: https://www.wsu.edu/~brians/hum_303/enlightenment.html
Background of the Enlightenment:
Humanists: Catholics. They argued that the proper worship of God involved admiration of his creation, and in particular of that crown of creation: humanity. By celebrating the human race and its capacities they argued they were worshipping God more appropriately than gloomy priests and monks who harped on original sin and continuously called upon people to confess and humble themselves before the Almighty. Indeed, some of them claimed that humans were like God, created not only in his image, but with a share of his creative power. The painter, the architect, the musician, and the scholar, by exercising their intellectual powers, were fulfilling divine purposes.
Michel de Montaigne: he argued that morals may be to some degree relative. Shift toward cultural relativism
* Enlightenment thinkers used the examples of other cultures to gain the freedom to reshape not only their philosophies, but their societies.
René Descartes: “I think therefore I am” He tried to begin with a blank slate, with the bare minimum of knowledge: the knowledge of his own existence ("I think, therefore I am"). From there he attempted to reason his way to a complete defense of Christianity, but to do so he committed so many logical faults that his successors over the centuries were to slowly disintegrate his gains, even finally challenging the notion of selfhood with which he had begun.
Europeans were changing, but Europe's institutions were not keeping pace with that change. The Church’s firm belief that it was the only source of truth, that all who lived outside its bounds were damned. It was this discrepancy that spurred the Enlightenment into existence.
Voltaire: What he did think was that educated and sophisticated persons could be brought to see through the exercise of their reason that the world could and should be greatly improved.
Voltaire’s chief adversary: Jean-Jacques Rousseau.Jean-Jacques Rousseau: distrusted the aristocrats not out of a thirst for change but because he believed they were betraying decent traditional values. He opposed the theater which was Voltaire's lifeblood, shunned the aristocracy which Voltaire courted, and argued for something dangerously like democratic revolution. Whereas Voltaire argued that equality was impossible, Rousseau argued that inequality was not only unnatural, but that--when taken too far--it made decent government impossible. Whereas Voltaire charmed with his wit, Rousseau ponderously insisted on his correctness, even while contradicting himself. Whereas Voltaire insisted on the supremacy of the intellect, Rousseau emphasized the emotions, becoming a contributor to both the Enlightenment and its successor, romanticism. And whereas Voltaire endlessly repeated the same handful of core Enlightenment notions, Rousseau sparked off original thoughts in all directions: ideas about education, the family, government, the arts, and whatever else attracted his attention.
For all their personal differences, the two shared more values than they liked to acknowledge. They viewed absolute monarchy as dangerous and evil and rejected orthodox Christianity. Though Rousseau often struggled to seem more devout, he was almost as much a skeptic as Voltaire: the minimalist faith both shared was called "deism," and it was eventually to transform European religion and have powerful influences on other aspects of society as well.

Enlightenment In Europe:- John Locke, the Scot David Hume, and many others- English Protestantism struggled to express itself in ways that widened the limits of freedom of speech and press. Radical Quakers and Unitarians broke open old dogmas in ways that Voltaire was to find highly congenial when he found himself there in exile. The English and French Enlightenments exchanged influences through many channels,- Finished Enlightenment quickly, moved on to democracy
Enlightenment In America:- Many of the most distinguished leaders of the American revolution--Jefferson, Washington, Franklin, Paine--were powerfully influenced by English and--to a lesser extent--French Enlightenment thought.
- The language of natural law, of inherent freedoms, of self-determination which seeped so deeply into the American grain was the language of the Enlightenment, though often coated with a light glaze of traditional religion, what has been called our "civil religion."
Struggle In Europe- One way to undermine the power of the Church was to undermine its credibility,- Voltaire attacked: the inspiration of the Bible, the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ, the damnation of unbelievers

More to come

posted by NCHS AP English Language III @ 1:28 PM