Enlightenment

Question 1

Kant: What is Enlightenment?

Key thoughts about enlightenment: (7) from individual, theory, to governance

Answer 1

1. escape from tutelage
2. religion - spiritual welfare as an individual - doesn’t reduce church’s authority
3. E as a process
4. E is for all
5. E is against despotic governance
6. better laws
7. free and more developed thinking

Question 2

d’Alembert, ‘The Human Mind Emerged from Barbarism’

What was his key core thought about people then to E?

Answer 2

Men are in state of nature (barabarism), one cannot live in detriment to others so law exists and regulates people, and the enlightened are the educated scholars

Question 3

Diderot in the ‘Encyclopédie’
Function of the Encyclopedie?
Key thought about thought:

Answer 3

To enlighten future generations to make them more virtuous and happier
People should question authority, processes and all things, and this knowledge should be made universal

Question 4

Condorcet, ‘The Future Progress of the Human Mind’
His hopes for humanity: (3)
How to make this possible: (4)

Answer 4

1. abolition of inequality between nations
2. progress of equality within nations
3. true perfection of mankind
4. end trade monopolies, slavery - liberalise
5. social insurance
6. universal education
7. according to Rousseau’s social contract - equal in front of sovereign, law made for and by epople, gov’ to serve people

Question 5

Newton on his argument for deity: how is religious knowledge gained?
Use of abduction?:
Proof of creator?
What does physics show?

Answer 5

1. a posteriori - through fact and observation on can induce
2. not dudction or induction - but God is the ‘best explanation’
3. Nature is ‘designed’ so there must be an intelligent creator
4. Gravitational stuff, orbits etc can’t just be mechanical so must be God

Question 6

Montesquieu The spirit of the laws:
3 forms of government
What is political virtue?

Answer 6

Monarchy, prince has power executed through law
Republic -a body of people share power
Despotic - single person rules according to his will

Question 7

Montesquieu The spirit of the laws:

Principle of Monarchy, of Despotic government, of democracy:

Answer 7

M: force of law is sufficient to compel, so little virtue is needed and so people struggle to be virtuous - rank, self-interest
D: fear - slaves, subdue for submission
R: education - to love democracy to make it last

Question 8

Montesquieu The spirit of the laws:
4 tenets of liberty:
Is liberty natural?

Answer 8

1. escape form tyranny
2. ‘choosing’ the superior power to obey 3. right to bear arms and wield violence 4. governance by a native and one’s own laws
   No: not to republics so power must be checked to ensure it

Question 9

Montesquieu The spirit of the laws:

3 divisions of power;

Answer 9

legislative - law
executive - make peace and war, FP, public security
judicial - civil law, punishment and mediation

Question 10

Montesquieu The spirit of the laws:
leg’ and exec’ power together:
judicial and leg’ together:
all 3:

Answer 10

1. Leadership may enact tyrannical laws or execute them tyrannically - should check each other
2. judge would legislate, may judge oppressively
3. all three would be the “end of everything”

Question 11

Paine - ‘Common sense’
Society vs. Government: (functions)
Origin of society:
Origin of government:

Answer 11

Society promotes our happiness by uniting affections
Gov’ restrains our vices - a necessary evil - security is the true design
S: state of nature, necessary because of inequality of strength and fortune - law necessary
G: inability of moral virtue to govern the world - elected represenatives

Question 12

Paine - ‘Common sense’

Critique of English Constitution: (3)

Answer 12

1. Tyranny remains in the continuation of the monarchy
2. Aristocratic and peer tyranny remains
3. 3 power are not checking each other - contradictory role of king and parliament

Question 13

Paine - ‘Common sense’
Origin of hereditary power:
Critique of hed’ power:
Support of US independence:

Answer 13

O: power is given for merit and honour but then transferred to children
C: degrading as we are actually born equal and one cannot have the right to give perpetual preference to their family - security in power drives insolence
US: supporting republicanism

Question 14

‘Madison on Factions’
What is a faction?
How to combat the dangers of a faction?

Answer 14

a number of citizens motivated by a common passion, adverse to the rights and interests of other citizens and community
Remove its causes and control its effects

Question 15

‘Madison on Factions’
How one would stop factions emerging:
Why this is bad, why this can’t work:

Answer 15

destroy the liberty that allows this free thought and passion to make us all have the same interests

1. it removes liberty which is worse than a faction succeeding
2. impracticable to restrict people so

Question 16

‘Madison on Factions’

Causes of factionalism: (4)

Answer 16

1. Opinion, religion, practices - different views
2. Ambition for pre-eminece and power
3. differences in opinion leading to animosity and oppression rather than cooperation for common good
4. unequal distribution of property

Question 17

‘Madison on Factions’

How to control the effects of factionalism: (3)

Answer 17

1. if minority - republican vote beat them
2. majority - nothing - public is sacrificed to the will and that’s what you get with democracy
3. moral and religious motives cannot control majority faction from oppressing

Question 18

Paine on ‘the rights of man’
People want change in:
Power should move from x to y:

Answer 18

political order, type of government hence revolution

From hereditary owners to the people

Question 19

Paine on ‘the rights of man’
Will change happen?
What will the change in the government be?

Answer 19

Revolutionary progress is inevitable in a republic, good overcome bad
The republic will now protect rights and be moral unlike the monarchy

Question 20

de Gouges ‘The Rights of Woman’
How does she challenge inequality?
What are men doing to women?
What should women have the right to do?

Answer 20

Replaces articles in the rights of man to women and man, women like men etc
Oppressing them
Work, to fulfill themselves and their souls - increase equality

Question 21

de Gouges ‘The Rights of Woman’
Women need to do what?
All women should?

Answer 21

know their rights so they can claim them and exercise them

Have equal rights, not just the beautiful and young

Question 22

Mary Wollstoncraft ‘Vindication’ - general message:

Answer 22

women’s emancipation and equality will improve the lives of women and society itself

Question 23

Mary Wollstoncraft ‘Vindication’

Critique of virtue in society:

Answer 23

is derived from hereditary titles and power, money and property - does not encourage virtue as it moral acts do not warrant the same praise

Question 24

Mary Wollstoncraft ‘Vindication’

Why is inequality an ill for society?

Answer 24

It breeds vice and ill society as half of society is ‘chained to the bottom in ignorance and pride’ - nothing can be expected of women until they are free of men

Question 25

Mary Wollstoncraft 'Vindication' | Where will virtue come in the reorganising of society?

Answer 25

In marriage - women will be there for love, not advantage

Question 26

Mary Wollstoncraft 'Vindication' | Where is happiness found?

Answer 26

having moral and intellectual cultivation - one needs freedom to do so

Question 27

Mary Wollstoncraft 'Vindication' why do women struggle to be virtuous in their motherly duties? why do her duties become null? the theory:

Answer 27

dependent on man she has no natural rights 'women can't be virtuous without rights, for rights are needed to carry out duty'

Question 28

Mary Wollstoncraft 'Vindication' | How can women be governed rightly?

Answer 28

with representation

Question 29

Mary Wollstoncraft 'Vindication' | How could women stop themselves from falling socially?

Answer 29

Be allowed to work the same positions as men, no need to marry for support

Question 30

Mary Wollstoncraft 'Vindication' | If women are emancipated they will be: (4)

Answer 30

better citizens more observant affectionate faithful

Question 31

Kant 'Idea for a Universal History' | Key thought:

Answer 31

Function of things is to develop, nature causes this and human's developmental end is cosmopolitanism

Question 32

Kant 'Idea for a Universal History' | First proposition:

Answer 32

Natural capacities will develop completely to fulfill their end - nature causes this

Question 33

Kant 'Idea for a Universal History' | 2nd Proposition:

Answer 33

Full human rationality cannot be fully developed in the individual, but in the species - we go beyond instinct but this requires practice and instruction, so will take more than a life time

Question 34

Kant 'Idea for a Universal History' | 3rd Proposition

Answer 34

Nature wills man to produce of his own all that he requires - self-sufficient in design

Question 35

Kant 'Idea for a Universal History' 4th Proposition 5th as a result then 6th

Answer 35

Competition/'antagonism' is necessary to bring out full rationality in society - in human nature 5th: we need government to make sure competition doe snot impede progess 6th: laws needed to limit freedom to protect liberty

Question 36

Kant 'Idea for a Universal History' 7th proposition Structure it wants:

Answer 36

A law governed external relationship with other states is needed to reduce conflict A federation of states from which all drive security and rights - united power and law-governed decisions of a united will

Question 37

Kant 'Perpetual Peace' | Preliminary articles: 6 restrictions on states

Answer 37

1. no treaties of peace with secret reservations 2. sovereignty - no giving, exchange, acquiring, purchasing of territory 3. abolish standing armies 4. states should not aquire wealth from other states and debt 5. no forcible interventions in other's const' and gov's 6. in war - no acts to ensure future distrust

Question 38

Kant 'Perpetual Peace' | Point of the preliminary articles?

Answer 38

To promote lasting peace between states - fosters peace even where there is war

Question 39

Kant 'Perpetual Peace' | Why must there be a civil constitution? (2)

Answer 39

Nature is working to effect the perfect one. | It is necessary given the constant threat of war between neighbors - they can affect each other

Question 40

Kant 'Perpetual Peace' First article: What are the two types of gov? Why would this foster perpetual peace?

Answer 40

Every state's consit' should be republican - republican/despotic - the people would decide whether to go to war or not

Question 41

Adorno and Horkheimer, 'What is E?' | Criticism of E about nature: (5)

Answer 41

1. reduces it/disenchants it to facts and theory 2. use it to learn how to dominate humans and nature 3. E is totalitarian - dominates 4. what cannot be resolved into numbers is illusion/deity 5. Man is distinct from all elsewith his sovereignty and mind

Question 42

Adorno and Horkheimer, 'What is E?' what did they consider the cause for the failure of the Enlightenment? What was a criticism of this?

Answer 42

the socio-psychological status quo | moral scepticism and enlightenment's alignment with this

Question 43

Adorno and Horkheimer, 'What is E?' How is the E totalitarian? How was this conception limited?

Answer 43

In its conception of reason | it falls back to further myth and assumption when banishing one - 'not enlightened enough'

Question 44

Adorno and Horkheimer, 'What is E?' | How does mythology help the enlightenment?

Answer 44

it sets the process in motion - one truth displaces another- criticism of theory and therefore development of it

Question 45

Adorno and Horkheimer, 'What is E?' | How are humans objectified in the E? (2)

Answer 45

Reduced - those liberated in turn become part of the herd - reduces individualism Scientifically - ones own self vs. same species and purpose

Question 46

Adorno and Horkheimer, 'What is E?' | Critique of enlightened morality? (2)

Answer 46

Self-preservation is the basis of virtue | Standardised behaviour as the moral and rational - following rules

Question 47

Two age of enlightenment criticisms: 1. Foucault: 2. Berlin:

Answer 47

F: age of reason had to construct 'unreason' to oppose e.g. insane and other races B: legacy is monism - promoting political authoritarianism