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A group of intellectuals known as the __popularized the ideas of the __ and reexamined life. In Paris, women did what? __ is one of them. Artists and philosophers did not mix well. Enlightenment , for __, meant __
- philosophes
- Scienticfic Revolution
- took the lead iin bringing groups together to discuss their ideas
- Marie-Therese de Geoffrin
- philosophes
rejecting traditional Christianity.
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The Enlightenment: Kant
- a. 1784: German Philosopher Immanual Kant defined Enlghtement as “man’s leaving his self- caused immaturity.”
- i. Use own intelligence
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The Enlightenment
What was it
- i. Movement of intellectuals who dared to know, greatly impressed by accomplishments of Scientific Rev., and reason meant applying the scientific method to understand life.
- 1. Everything subject to rational scientific way of thinking if people disregard old traditionsà progress toward a better society
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I. The Paths to Enlightenment
Intellectuals and Popularization
- a. Intellectuals influenced by revolutionary 17th century thinkers
- b. Popularization of Science
- i. Scientific ideas acquired not only by original sources, like the hard to find/ read Newton’s Principia
- 1. Scientific ideas spread to circles of educated Europeans by popularizers, not scientists.
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De Fontenelle
- a. Bernard de Fontenelle important in link between Scientifc Revolution and philosophes
- i. Secretary of the French Royal Academy of Science
- 1. Performed no scientific experiments or made discoveries, but knew earlier and present scientific works and could communicate body of scientific knownledge in witty way that appealed to upper class in a meaningful way
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De Fontenelle: One book
- a. One book, Plurality of Worlds, was in form of conversation
- i. Two evenings under the starsà lady learns fundamentals of universe and educated elite
- ii. Due to him, science no longer monopoly of experts, but part of literature
- 1. Downplayed religious backgrounds of 17th c. scientists
- He was a skeptic and contributed to skepticism toward religion by portraying church as enemies of scientific progress
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The New Skepticism
- i. 17th c. scientists (Kepler, Galileo, Newton) did work to praise God, not undermine Christianity
- 1. With spread of scientific knowledge came questions of religious truths and values
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Pierre Bayle
- i. Skepticism about religion and growing secularization of thought evident by Pierre Bayle, who remained a Protestant while becoming a leading critic of traditional religious attitudes
- 1. Attacked superstition, religious intolerance, dogmatism
- a. Making people believe set of religious ideas= wrong
- i. It creates hypocrites and contradicted religion
- 1. Individual conscience should determine one’s actions
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Bayle argued...
- 1. He argued for complete religious toleration, saying that the existence of many religions would benefit, not harm, the state
- ii. Bayle and others believed new rational principles of textual criticism should be applied to Bible and secular documents
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Bayl'e Dictionary
- 1. Historical and Critical Dictionary
- a. Bayle demonstrated results of own efforts with famous article on Israelite King David
- i. Replaced HEROIC David with SENSUAL, TREACHEROUS, CRUEL, AND EVIL man
- b. Bible of the 18th c. to intellectual s
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Impact of Travel Literature
- i. Skepticism about Christianity and European culture nourished by travel reports
- ii. Due to voyages of discovery, 17th c. traders, missionaries, practitioners, etc. published travel book sof cultures
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Cook
- i. 18th c. geographic adventures, especially discovery of Tahiti, New Zealand and Australia by Cookà Cook’s Travels (his journeys)= best seller
- 1. Responses to it
- a. Some intellectuals: existence of exotic people was image of “natural man: far happier than many Europeansà noble savage
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Realization
- i. Also led to realization of highly developed civilizations with different customs in different parts of the world, especially China
- 1. Confucian > Christianity
- 2. Intellectuals evaluated their civilization relative to others
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Practices
- a. Practices grounded in reasonà just matters of custom
- i. certainties about European practicesà cultural relativism
- 1. accompanied by religious skepticism
- a. Christian perception of God= one of many
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Discovery of other peopel
- i. Discovery of other people= racial classificationà polygeness (belief in separate human species) vs. monogenesis (one human species with different racial variations)
- 1. Africans lowest rank of humankind
- Encyclopedia by Denis Diderot= Africans were black and “new species of mankind
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Locke and Newton
i. Intellectual inspiration for Enlightenment from Locke and Newton
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Newton
- 1. greatest and rarest genius”
- a. Intellectuals convicned that by following Newton’s rules of reasoning, they could discover the natural laws that governed politics, economics, justice, religion, and the arts
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Locke
- 1. Theory of knowledge influenced philosophes
- 2. Essay Concerning Human Understanding= Locke denied Descartes’ belief in inate ideas and said every person born with a blank mind (tabula rasa)
- a. Knowledge derived from environment, not heredity; reason, not faith
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Locke's philosophy
- 1. His philosophy implied people wre molded by environment and experiences received through senses
- a. By changing the environment and subjecting people to proper influences, they could be changed and a new society created
- ii. Together, these men’s ideas seemed to offer hope of a brave new world built on reason
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