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THE ENLIGHTENMENT: THE CULTURE OF OPTIMISM - Coggle Diagram
THE ENLIGHTENMENT: THE CULTURE OF OPTIMISM
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ENLIGHTENMENT
The scientific and intellectual advances
not accepted by everybody.
On many occasions
there was resistance from
political
religious
new intellectual movement appeared
educated elites of the 18th century develop
Enlightenment
This was a European phenomenon
with France as its main epicentre
The Enlightenment
brought together the ideas
of the main cultural and philosophical movements of the previous centuries
Like humanism, empiricism and rationalism
It was an optimistic intellectual movement
Progress
as thought of as the development of knowledge
Happiness
was considered an individual right and a societal aspiration
Reason
was the way to overcome biased notions and religious dogmas
This led some Enlightenment thinkers to challenge all religious beliefs.
THE EVOLUTION OF THE ENLIGHTENMENT
The Enlightenment was mostly a reformist movement
it defended its aims through
reforms of politics
society
the economy
culture
They placed a lot of importance on education and pedagogy
the Enlightenment led to different scientific and technical innovations.
The development of the Enlightenment
caused the Church and absolutism
to lose part of their influence
It also encouraged certain improvements
As these were important achievements
Enlightenment thinkers understood that they were insufficient to achieve the triumph of
reason, progress and happiness, so
more radical critique of the political and social system emerged.
Therefore, thinkers like Diderot, Montesquieu, Voltaire and Rousseau
THE SPREAD OF ENLIGHTENMENT IDEAS
new Enlightenment ideas
were printed in the press and in books
they were spread by the Encyclopédie
the most important book of the Age of Enlightenment
the 28 volumes of the Encyclopédie were published between 1751 and 1772
At the end of the 18th century
newspapers were published daily, weekly and on Sundays
The first Spanish newspaper was Diario noticioso, curioso, erudito, comercial y político
published in 1758
Enlightenment ideas
were not spread where social life had formerly taken place
in churches, families and guilds
They were spread by
word of mouth in gatherings of the nobility and upper middle class
in coffee houses
taverns
salons
Reading societies were also established
These acted as the first public libraries
number of books published therefore increased significantly during the Age of Enlightenmen
In England, for example,
published increased from 21,000, in 1710 to 65,000, in 1790
Scientists and intellectuals gathered in academies
where lectures were given, scientific and literary works
practical work was carried out
topographical, agricultural and climate studies
WOMEN IN THE ENLIGHTENMENT
Compared to men
women experienced inequality and subordination
Some of these women,
usually wealthy ones, protested about women’s social situation
tried to improve it
based on Enlightenment ideas of progress and reasoning.
SALONS: MARIE-THÉRÈSE RODET
The Enlightenment promoted the exchange of ideas
for the progress of knowledge
From an early age
Marie-Thérèse Rodet (1699–1777) attended the literary salons of Paris
Marie-Thérèse Rodet famous because
starting her own salon
Her guests included
8 more items...
SCIENCE, LITERATURE AND ART
As well as organising salons
more and more women began to work in professions
Women made important scientific and cultural contributions
MARÍA GAETANA AGNESI (1718–1799)
MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT (1759–1797)
ÉMILIE DU CHÂTELET (1706–1749)