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What was the role of the French Revolution in the development of…
What was the role of the French Revolution in the development of philosophy?
Ideas of the French Revolution
What ideas were the inspiration and or motivating factor for the French Revolution?
Look at two key philosophers, Voltaire and Jean Jacques Rousseau
Their key ideas and how it related to the revolution and the changes that occurred
Analysis of the ideas themselves and what they actually meant
Ideas such as equality, did they have the same meaning as today?
Was there racism at the time?
Analyse the meaning of the concept of equality
Rousseau's writings on the subject
"Rousseau: Social Contract Summary". 2019. Philosophy & Philosophers.
https://www.the-philosophy.com/rousseau-social-contract-summary
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Disestablishment and secularism
How were they conceived by the political systems/revolution?
Important to analyse how important the philosophy was to the historical events. I.e. was it mostly an economic revolution?
Seven Year's War
Debt, higher taxes
Poor harvests
Why did these ideas come to pass in France at the time?
Was it merely a focal point of the Enlightenment tradition or was it the unique political and intellectual climate in France at the time which caused he development of such ideas?
Talk about the political opposition to absolute monarchy
Voltaire's objections
Voltaire had already outlined in 1769 that man had a tendency to abuse power and the responsibilities they have, and that man’s human nature means that the families and societal systems with the strongest arms and hardest hearts will always triumph. Possible hint towards the rejection of an absolute monarchy.
Keohane, N. (2017). Philosophy and the State in France. Princeton University Press
Montesquieu's writings
Montesquieu is arguing for a greater deal of individual responsibility and a greater role of the individual within society. Tried to accommodate individual passions within a societal system
Keohane, N. (2017). Philosophy and the State in France. Princeton University Press
Core ideals that will be examined throughout the EPQ
Equality
Equality before the law
Removal of aristocratic privilege
Sieyes' "What is the Third Estate?" essay, arguing that the nobility in France at the time were of 'dangerous' nature simply due to their existence
The indiscriminate violence of the revolutionaries inspired by Sieyes contradicts the liberty and pursuit of freedom and happiness advocated by Rousseau and Voltaire.
National Assembly
Attempts at reform in previous decades to the revolution
Blocked by senior members of the nobility
Disestablishment
Liberty
Removal of an absolute monarchy
The place of the French Revolution in the broader Enlightenment Era
Brief explanation of what the Enlightenment involved
Analysis of how influential the French Revolution was in the wider Enlightenment context
Including the establishment of a pseudo-democracy in face of absolute monarchies
Founding a state based on a proclamation of rights was truly revolutionary.
Accountability of government to central values
American War of Independence also had a Constitution (before France) but the Bill of Rights in the US was later than the French Declaration of the Rights of Man
The place of these new ideas such as the social contract within philosophical tradition
I.E did subsequent philosophers regress from ideas started within the French Revolution?
Or did they build upon these ideas as new ideals to be adopted?
Later Enlightenment thinkers
What aspects of enlightenment philosophy manifested themselves during the Revolution?
Analysis of the outcome of the French Revolution
The economic, social and political outcomes
Establishment of Napoleon's Republican Dictatorship
Did the earlier ideas of republicanism and democracy for the common man actually have any effect in the political philosophy of France
The economic picture in a post-revolution France
Acemoglu, Daron, Davide Cantoni, Simon Johnson, and James A Robinson. 2011. "The Consequences Of Radical Reform: The French Revolution". American Economic Review101 (7): 3286-3307. doi:10.1257/aer.101.7.3286.
The French revolution had a monumental impact in the political climate of Europe
Removed legal and economic barriers protecting oligarchies
Establishment of equality before the law important
Impact on the wider world
Influence on the Bill of Rights in the USA
What the ideals of
Conclusion
Introduction
Structure of the essay itself
Introduction on the history of the French Revolution
Ideas of the French revolution
What were they?
Intellectual origins and thinkers
How these ideas were put into action during the course of the French revolution
Historical context and place of French Revolution and ideals
Wider impact on Europe and the world.
Impact of the French Revolution on the development of philosophy - long term
Conclusion of the event as a whole
Revised Plan 2/9/19
Structure of Essay
Introduction on the history of the French Revolution
Analysis of the ideal of the removal of absolute monarchy
New plan is to analyse each idea as a whole, including the history, intellectual origins, thinkers and how it manifested itself over the course of the French Revolution
Changes to plan made due to rethinking how it can flow better
Change (13/09/19) Add an introductory section to the Enlightenment as a concept
Idea of equality and the removal of aristocratic privilege
Same structure as monarchy section
Liberty and individual freedom
Historical context and place of French Revolution and ideals
Impact of the French Revolution on the development of philosophy - long term
Conclusion of the event as a whole