Early Modern Times: 1450 - 1750, while Modern Times: 1750-1945
- What is the enlightenment?
- The growth of REASON as a way to run human societies
- What's reason?
- Scientific, logical, and based on evidence
- Is not emotional, religious, or mystical
- Big ideas
- Progress
- We can make society better!
- Happier!
- More productive!
- The Enlightenment
- Basics
- Philosophes
- Intellectuals
- Upper and middle classes
- Want to improve society
- Precursors
- Discoveries of Isaac Newton
- Gravity
- Laws of motion
- Calculus
- These describe the physical world nearly perfectly!
- Physical world works like a watch!
- Physical!
- Predictable
- Rational
- 1200s
- Literacy confined to monks/priests
- 1700s
- Literacy is a social expectation
- Middle and upper classes!
- Voltaire
- AKA Francois Marie Arouet
- 1684-1778
- Professional writer!
- Published a novel, humor, essays
- Criticized old-fashioned attitudes and values
- Contributions
- Popularized Newton's ideas
- Popularized Deism
- Which leads to the conclusion that god doesn't exist
- Deism is that God created the universe
- It runs like a machine and that we can understand it through science
- Implications of Deism
- Supernatural myths and miracles, angels and spirits, and religious wars are removed because lol
- John Locke
- English Philosopher
- Political theorist
- His questions:
- What is the natural state of humanity?
- Everyone is born with natural rights
- Freedom to do what you want as long as you're not bugging someone else
- Life
- Property
- What is the role of government?
- To preserve your rights as much as possible (especially with keeping order)
- Social Contract
- An agreement between people and the government
- People's role: Will surrender some rights
- Government's role: To preserve the rest/create order
- What can we do if we have a bad government?
- French Revolution
mar 21 2016 ∞
mar 21 2016 +