2 Flashcards
(24 cards)
Aristocrat culture: Louis XIV and the Palace of Versailles
In the 17th century, Louis XIV (14) had consolidated his power by this cultural principal. He used luxury to show his power. Ex: he never appeared without presenting himself with gorgeous clothes; his luxury palace. He also invented some rituals that show luxury. So he sat an example for nobles.
Aristocrat culture
opera as social spectacle
in 18th century, opera was one of the most important places for French. They go to opera not for the performances but for social interaction: people want to see and be seen. Ex: some people sat right on the stage to present themselves; noisy because people talk during performances.
Therefore, the performance became increasing elaborate and music became louder, in order to grasp audience’s attention. Ex: 1748, one night of opera they threw every character to the audience at once. Even though they took a lot effort, people still didn’t care.
Aristocratic Character
This principle of showing social status also apply on individual way. Grace noble character: grace personality. Nobles imagined they were grace and refine because of their status. The ideal noble also treats their inferiors, such as servant well.
A noble’s social status may give them a certain refined personality, which automatically, let them to desire to give pleasure and graciousness to others.
Social status for noble led to a certain individual character, which is always idealized. This was called by different names:
-(a) honnêteté, politesse, civilité (honesty, politeness, civility)
these kinds of behavior are believed to act the noble.
Everything is about showing, they show their status through everything. They seek to make life pleasurable and bring others pleasure.
The Aristocratic Salon
the salonnière
The Aristocratic Salon
Nobles and non-nobles liked to go to salon to discuss, so it is a place for having conversation. It is based on the principle of giving pleasure, so it should be witty, no political discussions.
-the salonnière
a person who provides the topic for discussions. She will make sure everyone will enjoy it, no conflicts appear.
Why non nobles also get invited in salons?
Non-nobles also got invited, such as business men, writers. Salons I fact function the recruiting center of the aristocracy. By Inviting non-nobles in, to teach them how to function in an aristocratic society. How to present themselves, speak, engage. How to incorporate them in to the aristocracy. This is the ideal self-image of the noble: because of noble’s status they were assumed to have noble characters. So they will always be concerned with presenting themselves in all possible venues.
Aristocrat culture’s influence
The culture of aristocracy based on showing and giving pleasure was dominated culture life in 18th century France. As such, other social classes attempted to imitate them. Some argue that this is the origin of western ideas of enlightenment that as a middle class want to get wealthier, and learn aristocrat’s manners. So politeness and manner become important to those classes as well.
How did the enlightenment started? What did they discover? (主张）
The enlightenment started at the very end of 17th century. When Issac Newton published his work about the law of gravity in 1687, which inspired this movement.
Around the same time, John Locke’s “essay concerning human understanding” published in 1689.
These two works fundamentally reoriented European philosophy and science.
They both show how one can study nature empirically or by induction. In other words, they showed how systematic observation could produce not just knowledge, but universal law of nature.
The significance of Newton’s law of gravity: by a systematic empirical observation by induction could produce universal law of nature.
In France, this reorientation of empirical studies, despite the earlier philosophy before.
The importance is they bring the empirical systematic approach to study nature, which they derived universal law.
What do we see in the empirical approach? What effect it has on French philosophers?
What do we see in that approach?
The appearance of modern science, that not based on deduction but based on empirical observation. People now can find systematic laws about how nature became.
-philosophes
These philosophers’ discovery of Newton. The first thing they did was spreading Newton’s views.
Voltaire wrote about a study of Newton that presents Newton’s view.
Other philosophers wanted to imitate what Newton did for nature (the empirical systematic approach) in other fields.
-the natural laws of society and human nature
They treated the study of society and politics as if they were natural sciences.
They wanted to define the natural laws of society that should be based on the basic nature of humans.
Spirit of the Laws by Baron de Montesquieu
1751, Spirit of the Laws by Baron de Montesquieu, who wanted to find the basic principals of states, in other words, the natural laws of state formation: what make a state become monarchy, republic, tyrannical, etc.
Turgot
The economist Turgot in the 18th century was the member of the physiocrat: they are the economists who seek to determine the natural laws to a well functional economy. They think we should organize the economy according to the natural principal of economy, which is unrestricted economic behavior (free trade). Physiocracy
Diderot
Diderot wrote about the island of Hindi. He used this fictional account to image what it would be like to live in entirely natural condition, obey only the simple natural laws of behavior (he said it will be more guiltless sex). He wanted to find what is natural to human, what will be like in a pre-civilized condition It is an idealization of people live closest to nature and to find the nature of human beings.
Rousseau wrote Emile:
Rousseau wrote Emile: try to imagine raising a boy Emile would evolve, not according to any religious and social rules, but natural law entirely. The conclusion is he will become naturally moral, virtuous, reasonable, and pure. So for Rousseau, the empirical systematic approach makes him wanted to change the way of education.
Deism自然神论, or Natural Religion
Some other philosophes believed the empirical systematic approach led to the Deism自然神论, or Natural Religion, which argued that there was a God, who creates a clock universe.
The belief is God initially creates the universe and left to let it runs its own according to its own natural law.
This scientific approach that people used on many fields let many philosophers to believe there was no problem that they cannot solve with science. This is the idea of inevitable progress that based on the confidence in the power of empirical, scientific thought. (continue today)
Why deism is rejected by the church?
Some of these ideas of Deism become trouble in the view of religion.
One of the reasons is it does not require a church, takes away all ideas of miracle, supernatural (invention, Jesus, etc.), nor for religious monarchy.
Philosophers justify that Jesus is the model of morality. So they take religion out of Christianity and turn it to moral philosophy, no longer supernatural.
This conflict gets them into troubles with the Catholic church.
Ex of philosophers got persecuted because of deism
Rousseau denies the original sin, so he thinks people should follow human nature.
Voltaire was imprisoned twice and fleet out of France because of his view of religion.
Diderot’s project called the Encyclopedia: a collection of essays written by philosophers in many aspects of knowledge. But it was censored because was considered un-Christian.
1748, the parlement of Paris burned one of Diderot’s writing. In 1749, Diderot was in prison for aother irreligious event.
So we can see enlightenment was persecuted in the first half of the 18th century. It was persecuted by the church because of the lack of piety.
What happen for enlightenment after 1750?
But after 1750 sth remarkable happened. The enlightenment became increasingly popular among the liberate people, including social elite like nobles and clergy.
philosophers began to show up in the aristocrat venue, such as the salons, which became the center of the enlightenment thought.
So the salons now not only a social gathering place but a place where people meet and discuss problems in the society.
This is a good ex of the enlightenment became increasingly accepted.
The philosophes were also invited in French academy, which was an institution for the most traditional educated people in the society.
Aristocratic Culture
-showing social status
The monarch and the rest of nobility are in opposite side politically, but on the same side culturally.
Their common cultural orientation is aristocratic culture, which based on one principal: a person’s character reflected by his or her social class/status. So peasants are coarse and nobles are refined.
Ex of elevation of philosophers
They also received government offices requests, even one philosopher became member of the state royal censor. So instead of being censored, one of them became the censor for writings. When Voltaire died people in the city gathered to welcome him.
Rousseau became a great celebrity; people wrote him letters.
The rise of enlightenment to popularity not just a fashion, why?
The relationship between the enlightenment and aristocrat culture?
The rise of enlightenment to popularity not just a fashion. It also had crucial links to aristocrat culture and absolutist government.
In Diderot’s Encyclopedia there is an article called “the philosophes”, about the 18th century philosophers. The writer defined philosophers as someone who is knowledge, rational and scientific, but never bookish. A philosophes is one who seeks pleases others through his knowledge, so they are no different than aristocrats who please others.
This is why they can fit in aristocrat’s salon.
They can use knowledge in a clever, witty, light, amusing way, even when they are discussing the most difficult ideas. This desire shows up in the form of enlightenment writing (Rousseau’s essay, people’s letters, novels, etc.), in engaging of witty dialogue (when they change ideas).
All of these enlightenment forms tend to give a refined way, which similar to the aristocrat principal of giving refined pleasure.
So philosophers explicitly endorse 认可 the aristocrat culture. They believe the culture refined manner from aristocrat culture is a sign of the world become better and more and more civilized.
Voltaire was always a great admirer of the French monarchy. In some of his writings, he asserted that the courtly French civilization that Louis XIV created was unmatched throughout history in its refinement, and aristocratic French culture is a gracious 高尚的 art of living.
The French enlightenment also had a lot in common with the monarchy. In fact, part of the French enlightenment was relied on French monarchy.
What do most enlighten philosophers belief in term of politics?
-natural rights and social and legal equality
The enlightenment philosophers wanted to improve society. These bad things in the society were seen unnatural. Ex: they tried to remove torture from the legal system.
They focus on nature, so all human being have the same fundamental human nature, so therefore the same natural rights. Then led to social equality.
They think people should be allowed to develop their abilities in an equal way, rather than predetermine by one social status.
Therefore, they believed social equality led to legal equality: there will be one law for everyone, not different laws for different social groups
Why the philosopher turn to find support from the monarchy?
Ex
But every few of them, except Rousseau and his followers, believe in political equality, which means every few of them believed in democracy.
Rousseau and his followers became much more important later for the French Revolution.
Until that happened, most of the philosophes were afraid of giving power to ordinary people.
Voltaire said if his servant ever learns to read, they will strangle 把…勒死 him until he sleeps. So he did not trust to hand political authority to lower classes.
Because many of them don’t trust lower and poor educated people to govern, so they turn to the elite (in fact some of them were the elite).
Such as Montesquieu, who look to the nobility as support to the enlightenment. Others turn to absolute monarchy.
So here is a centralizing, nationalizing aristocratic tendencies of Europe absolute monarchy in the 18th century, actually made these monarchies welcome the philosophes.
Why we call the late 18th century we often called it the age of the enlighten absolutism?
For this reason, the late 18th century we often called it the age of the enlighten absolutism: when philosophes invited to the courts.
Frederick II of Prussia; Catherine II or Russia, Joseph II of Austria
All of these monarchs encourage the assimilation of enlightenment ideas.
Frederick II brought Voltaire to Prussia to rewrite the Prussian text code. They regarded French enlightenment as a light.
The economist philosophes Turgot became minister of finance in one of the worse crisis in France. He became the controller general in 1774.
All of these mean the enlightenment became insiders after 1750.
Why there is something hypocritical about the enlightenment
There was saying that the philosophers were in fact hypocrites, so there was something hypocritical about the enlightenment. They talked about freedom and natural right, but they in fact totally invested in the values and institution of monarchy, because they took money from the monarch. So they became the civil servants of the monarchy.
This argument of the enlightenment is selling out emphasizes how the enlightenment relation to France’s dominate culture and politic was highly contradictory.
It was not only critical and hostile 敌对的 to mainstream society and to the monarchy, but also a movement that found its own way of being incorporate and assimilate in that society, benefit from the very institutions that seems to criticize it.
评价 enlightenment as a whole
How the enlightenment fit in to the society of the day: how it gains celerity status, how it founds its way to aristocratic salons, how it shared the values of dominate aristocratic culture in producing pleasure and refinement. Also, how it contributed to the absolute monarchy for reform.
All of these things show the enlightenment could be corporate the dominate aristocratic culture and the absolute monarch.
But some philosophers against this movement.
