Global 10: Enlightenment &
Revolution to the Present
• The Age of Enlightenment is also known as the
Age of Reason
• Began in 17th century England; reached its peak in
18th century France
Enlightenment Terms you should know:
•Social Contract
•Laissez-faire
•Natural Rights
•Supply & Demand •Rococo
• Salon
•Enlightened
Absolutism
•Physiocrat
•Baroque
•Neoclassical
Well…coming out of the Middle Ages there was the…
RENAISSANCE SPIRIT
SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION
ENLIGHTENMENT
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
POLITICAL REVOLUTIONS
•American Revolution
•French Revolution
•Latin American Revolutions
Incorporated ideas from Greece, Rome, and the
Scientific Revolution into their writings
1.
2.
3.
Tried to use reason to discover the characteristics of
society and government intended by nature
Stimulated by Scientific Revolution. Reason and the
scientific method are used to discover “truths” about
human nature, the structure of society, and the role of
government
Believed in Progress — humanity’s ability to bring about
positive changes
Why do people form society? There are two basic theories
of human nature — man is naturally “good”; man is
naturally “bad”
• People are greedy, cruel, and selfish
• Life in the state of nature is “nasty, brutish, and short”
• People want to live in peace and security so they form
a “social contract” to protect them from their own
nature. (He coined the term Social Contract)
• People need to be controlled by a strong government
— like a divine right monarchy
• Wrote “The Leviathan”, setting out his ideas on
human nature
Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)
Other philosophers had a more positive view of human
nature…
John Locke (1632-1704)
• People are by nature good and moral beings
• People are born as a “tabula rasa” — a blank slate
• People are born with “natural rights” given to them by
their Creator — not granted to them by kings. The most
fundamental rights are to “Life, Liberty, and Property”
• People enter the Social Contract to protect their natural
rights
• The purpose of government is to protect natural rights
— if a government doesn’t do that, the people have the
right to overthrow it
• Locke’s most famous work was the 2nd Treatise on
Government. It inspired many political thinkers,
including Thomas Jefferson
In France during the 18th century, Enlightenment thinkers became known as
“Philosophes”
•
Came up with idea of “separation of powers”, that is, splitting the
power of government into separate branches, so that no one branch can
control everything. This leads to “checks and balances” to prevent abuse
of power
Baron de Montesquieu
(1689-1755)
•Wrote The Spirit of the Laws in 1748, describing this system
•The United States adopted this idea in its Constitution
•Emphasized freedom of thought — “I do not agree with a word you said,
but I will defend to the death your right to say it”
•Attacked French government for its corruption and Catholic church for its
prejudice.
Voltaire
(1694-1778)
•He was imprisoned and forced into exile
• Compiled The Encyclopedia, a collection of writings by Philosophes
• He wanted to transform the way people thought by including articles
from people like Montesquieu and Voltaire
Denis Diderot
(1713-1784)
• The Encyclopedia articles denounced slavery, praised freedom of
thought, and promoted education for all
• Most controversial of the Philosophes
• Rejected strict rational approach to life. Thought emotions were important
• He believed that people were basically good, but society corrupts them —
“Man is born free, but everywhere is in chains”
Jean Jacques
Rousseau
(1712-1778)
• Some social controls, however, are good. An example: a government
system that people freely consent to be part of.
• The individual submits to the “General Will.” This is controversial because
it raises the question, who decides what the “general will” is? Can someone
be forced to follow the General Will?
What about Women’s rights?
Most Philosophes said that women had natural rights, but women’s
equality only extended to areas of the home and family
A few thinkers disagreed, most notably…
• Agreed that women’s first duty was in the home
•Held that women should not be completely dependent
on their husbands
Mary
Wollstonecraft
(1759-1797)
•Argued that women need education to participate fully
in public life
Physiocrats were Enlightenment thinkers who searched for natural
laws to explain economics
• They urged laissez-faire economic policies. This means government
does not interfere in free markets
•They rejected mercantilism, which said that a country’s wealth was
measured by how much silver and gold it had. Mercantilism called
for government regulation of the economy to insure a favorable
balance of trade
• Physiocrats said that real wealth came from making the land more
productive
Adam Smith greatly admired the physiocrats. He was one of the
most influential economists of all time.
•He argued that free markets and laissez-faire are
the way to make an economy grow
•What makes things work, according to Smith, is
the idea of supply and demand, which
automatically keeps the economy in balance
Adam Smith
(1723-1790)
•In 1776, he published Wealth of Nations, the
foundation of modern capitalism
Purpose of
Government
Structure of
Government
To protect
natural rights
Separation of
powers; checks
and balances
Power of
Government
Sources of
Government’s
Power
Consent of
governed; will of
majority
Goal of
Government
Enlightenment
Ideas
Material wellbeing; social
justice
Debate: absolute
power or limited
power?
Government
and the
Economy
Laissez-faire;
free market
When
Government
Fails
People have
right to
overthrow the
government
• Educated people, both upper and middle class throughout
Europe latched onto Enlightenment ideas quickly. Even some
rulers were intrigued
• Using reason, people found existing conditions flawed
• This inspired movements for reform
• Governments and the Church reacted to radical ideas by
attempting to suppress them
•Censorship was widespread. Books were banned or burned
•Authors often had to disguise their works as satires in order to get their
ideas across. Examples of this would be Voltaire’s Candide and
Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels
Some monarchs were inspired by Enlightenment ideas to make
reforms. The idea was that a “rationalized” bureaucracy would make
their rule more powerful, while bringing change in the best interests
of the people.
The Most Notable Enlightened
Despots…
Frederick the Great (Prussia)
• Saw himself as “first servant of the state”
• Brought Voltaire to Berlin
• Reformed Prussian state
• Ruthlessly suppressed revolts
Catherine the Great (Russia)
• Corresponded with Voltaire and Diderot
•Made limited reforms, such as speaking out against serfdom
•Like Frederick, she ruthlessly suppressed revolts
Joseph II (Hapsburg Empire)
• Most radical Enlightened Despot, known as the “peasant
emperor”
•Chose officials on the basis of talent instead of class
•Tolerated Protestants and Jews
•Abolished serfdom (this reform cancelled after his death)
Enlightenment era visual artistic styles consisted of 3 main types:
• Baroque (1600s-early 1700s) — very ornate, complex, large scale
•Rococo (early to mid 1700s) — more refined and delicate
•Neoclassical (mid to late 1700s) — Based on Greek and Roman
styles
Baroque Style
Salon de La Guerre,
Versailles Palace
Rococo Style
Shepherd’s Idyll, 1768
François Boucher
(Metropolitan Museum of Art,
New York)
Neoclassical Style
Death of Socrates,
1787
Jacques-Louis David
(Metropolitan Museum of Art,
New York)
Baroque Music Sample
Johann Sebastian Bach
Brandenburg Concert No 2
Allegro Assai
Classical Music Sample
The term “Classical” comes
from the reason and logic of
Greek and Roman influence
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
Like most movements in history, the majority of people were almost totally
unaffected by the Enlightenment. This chart shows what was going on with
them
Peasants during the Enlightenment
• Untouched by middle class culture
•
Lived in small, rural villages
1.
2.
3.
4.
In the West
No longer serfs
Rented or owned land
Hired as day laborers
By late 1700s, some sought reform
and justice
1.
2.
3.
4.
In the East
Still serfs
Could be sold with land
Owed labor to lords
Some forced to serve as soldiers