The Enlightenment 1650 1800 Enlightenment thinkers produce revolutions

The Enlightenment 1650 - 1800 Enlightenment thinkers produce revolutions in philosophy, government, the arts, and religion. The Thinker, Auguste Rodin, 1902

Write a definition of the term “enlightenment. ”

Eastern Enlightenment is spiritual. In Hinduism, the ultimate goal is “Moksha, ” or release from the cycle of rebirth. This occurs when you are freed from earthly desires. In Buddhism, Enlightenment is called “Nirvana. ”

Western Enlightenment is intellectual. It is part of the period known as the Age of Reason. Immanuel Kant defined the Enlightenment as an age shaped by the Latin motto Sapere aude ("Dare to Know").

♦= Enlightenment Centers

Mozart Beccaria Montesquieu Locke Jefferson Rousseau Voltaire Wollstonecraft

Philosophes Advocate Reason The philosophes believed that people could apply reason to all aspects of life – just as Isaac Newton had applied reason to science. Scientism – the belief that the investigative methods of the physical sciences are applicable in all fields of inquiry. Five important concepts formed the core of their philosophy.

Reason Enlightened thinkers believed truth could be discovered through reason or logical thinking. Reason is the absence of intolerance, bigotry, or prejudice in one’s thinking. The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters, Francisco de Goya, 1797.

Nature The philosophes referred to nature frequently. What was natural was also good and reasonable. There are natural laws of economics and politics just as there are natural laws of motion.

Happiness A person who lived by nature’s laws would find happiness, the philosophes said. They were impatient with the medieval notion that people should accept misery in this world to find joy in the hereafter. The philosophes wanted well-being on earth, and they believed it was possible. Utopia (Greek for “no place”) is a name for an ideal society, often used derisively.

Progress The philosophes were the first Europeans to believe in progress for society. Now that people used a scientific approach, society and humankind could be perfected.

Liberty The philosophes envied the liberties that the English people had won in their Glorious Revolution and Bill of Rights. In France, there were many restrictions on speech, religion, trade, and personal travel. Through reason, the philosophes believed, society could be set free. Liberty Leading the People, Eugène Delacroix, 1830