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THE ENLIGHTENMENT: THE CULTURE OF OPTIMISM, image, image, image, image,…
THE ENLIGHTENMENT: THE CULTURE OF OPTIMISM
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ENLIGHTENMENT
The scientific and intellectual advances that took place during the European Modern Age
Society (in the 16th to 18th c.) was still largely
illiterate
appeared among the educated elites of the
18th century
European phenomenon with France
as its main epicentre
It spread to
America
Brought together the ideas of the main cultural and philosophical movements
It called on the individual
reason and experience
as ways to overcome
humanity’s problems
Humanism
Empiricism
Rationalism
Optimistic intellectual movement
Reason
was understood as
human rationality
overcome biased notions and religious dogmas
led some Enlightenment thinkers to challenge all religious beliefs
Progress
was thought of as the
development of knowledge
civilisation could control nature and create well-being and wealth
Happiness
was
considered an individual right and a societal aspiration that leaders were obligated to provide
THE EVOLUTION OF THE ENLIGHTENMENT
reformist movement
it defended its aims through reforms of
Society
Economy
Culture
Politics
importance
on
education and pedagogy
thinkers supported extending education
they wanted to
limit it to basic knowledge
important knowledge for the intellectual
elites
scientific and technical innovations
Church and absolutism to lose part of their influence
more radical critique of the political and social system emerged
Thinkers
VOLTAIRE
1694–1778
Voltaire was a wealthy, middle-class property owner who criticised religious fanaticism and the structure of the Church
He was an advocate of freedom of religion
ROUSSEAU
1712–1778
He proposed a model of society where sovereignty was in the hands of the people and not of the king
Rousseau was from a middle-class background
He supported democracy
MONTESQUIEU
1689–1755
French magistrate who criticised absolute monarchies
proposed a
moderate monarchy with
legislative
judicial powers
separation of the executive
THE SPREAD OF ENLIGHTENMENT IDEAS
Enlightenment ideas were printed in the press and in books
Encyclopédie
Age of Enlightenment
Topics and ideas were organised alphabetically
About 25,000 people subscribed to it.
century, newspapers were published daily
Diario noticioso
Enlightenment ideas were not spread where social life had formerly taken place, in churches, families and guilds
gatherings
nobility and upper middle class
Reading societies
acted as the first public libraries
Books on religion were replaced by books on
science, the arts, philosophy and literature
Academies
(topographical, agricultural and climate studies; dictionaries and statistics on population, professions and income; scientific and archaeological expeditions; industrial projects, etc)
where lectures were given, scientific and literary works were read
Scientists and intellectuals gathered
monarchs created important academies
academies of sciences in Paris (France), St. Petersburg (Russia) and Berlin (Prussia)
WOMEN IN THE ENLIGHTENMENT
Compared to men, women experienced inequality and subordination
Wealthy womens
protested about women’s social situation and tried to improve it,
based on Enlightenment ideas of progress and reasoning
SALONS: MARIE-THÉRÈSE RODET
promoted the exchange of ideas for the progress of knowledge
became famous for starting her own salon
SCIENCE, LITERATURE AND ART
women began to work in professions previously only worked in by men
Women made important scientific and cultural contributions
Thinkers
ÉMILIE DU CHÂTELET (1706–1749)
mathematician, physicist and writer
she helped disseminate the theories of Newton
regularly met with important scientists of the period
MARÍA GAETANA AGNESI (1718–1799)
teacher, linguist and mathematician
she spoke several languages and published a number of books on calculus
taught at the University of Bologna.
MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT (1759–1797)
One of the first women to become known as a feminist
translator, she wrote tales and short stories and an important treatise on women’s rights
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792)
