sophie’s world (the enlightenment)

The Enlightenment

Reza MousaviTan Cheng SimIman DipradjaErhire Aboloje

Sophie’s World

‘So to be or not to be’ is not the whole question. The question is also who we are.

Are we really human beings of flesh and blood? Does our world consist of real things-are we encircled by the mind?

Archimedes Greek scientist : ‘Give me a firm point on which to stand and I will move the

earth’

The French PhilosophersMontesquieu

• Born on 1689 in France

• A French social commentator and political thinker• Was the first of the great French scholars associated with the Enlightenment

• One of his greatest work is The Spirit of Laws

The French PhilosophersVoltaire

• Born on 1694 in France• He was a French

Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher.

• Famous for his advocacy of civil liberties, including Freedom of Religion and Free Trade.

The French PhilosophersRousseau

• Born on 1712 in Geneva• He was a Genevois

philosopher, writer and composer.

• Some of his famous work are Theory of Natural Human and The Social Contract

The Enlightenment

• Opposition to Authority

• Rationalism

• The Enlightenment Movement

• Cultural Optimism

• The Return to Nature

• Natural Religions

• Human Rights

Opposition to Authority

• Enlightenment refers to the belief that they were leaving behind the dark ignorance and blind beliefs.

• The contributors to the Enlightenment were the philosophers.

• Many French Enlightenment philosophers were inspired by English natural sciences and British philosophy.

Opposition to Authority

• When the philosophers bring those ideas to France , it opposed to the old authority.

• Because Religion and the King holds strong power in France.

• Eventually, it leads to the French Revolution.

Rationalism

• British speak of “Common sense". The English Expression means ‘What every body knows’.

• French speak of “Evident". The French means ‘What is obvious’-Reason ,I see.pg315

• French Enlightenment is often called “Age of Reason”

•

Rationalism

• Locke “Empiricism” Example, Faith in God and certain moral norms were inherent in human reason.

• Humanists of antiquity “Socrates and Stoics”

• Rationalism Philosopher Hume, Montesquieu, Voltaire and Rousseau

Morals, religion and ethics in accordance with man’s immutable reason.

This lead to the “Enlightenment Movement”

The Enlightenment Movement

• Enlightening

• Education

• Basis for a better Society

• Thought that Poverty and oppression were the fault of ignorance and superstition. Great attention was therefore focused on the education of children and people.

The Enlightenment Movement

• The Greatest monument to the enlightenment movement was characteristically enough a “Huge Encyclopedia”

• Encyclopedia 28vol-Published 1751 to 1772

• From the way needles are made to the way cannons are founded

Cultural Optimism and The Return to Nature

Western Europe Irrationalism and Ignorance.-The Enlightenment philosophers

“ Once reason and knowledge became widespread, humanity would make

great progress”

Cultural Optimism and The Return to Nature

- They have been criticize on ‘civilization’.- Civilization is the process of civilizing or

becoming civil• Rousseau’s book, “ Discourse on the Moral

Effects of the Arts and Sciences” Civilization has corrupted human beings. Everything that ‘civilize’ people such as technology,urbanization, science…has resulted in moraldegradation of humanity.

Cultural Optimism and The Return to Nature

The natural moral state of human beings:…is to be compassionate

- But in reality, civilization has made people cruel, selfish, and bloodthirsty.

Cultural Optimism and The Return to Nature

- Rousseau’s book, “ Discourse on Inequality”

- Civilization has stolen people of their ‘natural freedom’.

- Semi-civilized humanity looked to itself for its values and happiness, while civilized human beings live outside themselves in the opinions and authority of others.

Cultural Optimism and The Return to Nature

The Return to Nature- “Man by nature is good; it is civilization that ruins

him”- What does Rousseau mean by nature?

• The primitive state of savage man.• Spontaneity of the process: human builds their own

personality and his world.• - Natures signifies interiority, integrity, spiritual freedom as opposed

to that• imprisonment and enslavement which society imposes in the name

of• civilization,.

Cultural Optimism and The Return to Nature

• Rousseau’s writing, “The Social Contract”“ Liberty comes to man from nature and

belongs to every associate of society as an inalienable right ”

- General will’: the expression of the humanity immanent in every man,

and for this reason such a will is inalienable, universal, and uniform

in every man.

- ‘The will of all’: the expression of particular interests of egoism;

it is the font of all inequalities.

• According to Rousseau, “ Liberty consist in the spontaneous coordination

• of the general will and the will of all “

Cultural Optimism and The Return to Nature

• Rousseau’s writing, “Emile”Example on education according to the spontaneity of nature.

- He says that nature is good, and hence an education in keeping with the properties of nature will also be good unless this process is destroyed by outside prejudices. The pupil has to feel himself free in developing his activities. The educator may never impose his will upon the pupil by precepts. His work should consist in preparing the fittest external condition for the free unfolding of the activities of his pupil.

Natural Religion

• Religion had to be brought into harmony with “natural” reason.

• There were many who did not believe in God (atheists).

• However, most of the Enlightenment philosophers thought it was irrational to imagine a world without God (e.g. Newton).

Natural Religion

• It was considered rational to believe in the immortality of the soul.

• What religion needed was to be stripped of all the irrational dogmas and doctrines that had got attached to the simple teachings of Jesus.

• Deism : the belief that God created the world ages ago, but has not revealed Himself to the world since.

Natural Religion

• The French campaigned for the freedom of the press. They fought for the abolition of slavery.

• The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen was adopted by the French National Assembly in 1789.

• Natural rights : certain rights that everybody is entitled to simply by being born.

Natural Religion

• Women led demonstrations that forced the king away from his palace at Versailles.

• Women demanded for the same political rights as men, and changes in marriage laws and women’s social conditions.

• One of those who fought hardest for the rights of women during the French Revolution was Olympe de Gouges.