The Englightenment and Enlightened Despotism Flashcards
(57 cards)
The Enlightenment
Secular world view emerged for first time in human history; Natural Science & Reason could explain all aspects of life; New belief saw autonomy of man’s intellect apart from God; Faith in human reason rather than faith in revelation
Deism
The religious arm of the Englightenment; God was a “cosmic clockmaker” –created the earth & then stepped back, left it running like a clock; Universe governed by “natural law” not by personal god; Grew out of Newton’s theories on natural law
John Locke
Greatest of the Enlightenment thinkers; “Two Treatises of Civil Government;” Humans are basically good but lack protection; Purpose of gov’t —to protect natural rights
Two Treatises of Civil Government
Locke; Philosophical defense for “Glorious Revolution” in England;
Social Contract
Locke; People agree to obey the gov’t in return for protection of natural rights
Right to rebellion
Locke; People have right to abolish gov’t that doesn’t protect natural rights
“Essay Concering Human Understanding”
Locke; One of greatest works of Englightenment; Stressed importance of enviroment on human development; tabula rasa; Education was critical to progress of society; Undermined religious view that humans were sinful
tabula rasa
The human mind was born a blank slate
Pierre Bayle
“Critical & Historical Dictionary;” Advocated complete toleration of ideas; A skeptic;
The philosophes
Notable 18th century French philosophers committed to reform in society; Extremely successful in popularizing the Enlightenment; Not professional philosophers; Believed in progress through discovering natural laws governing human existance and nature
Voltaire
Most influential of all Enlightenment philophers; Wrote criticisms w/ sarcasm; Challenged traditional Catholic theology; Deist; His social critisicm set stage for French Revolution ; Enlightenend despotism
Ecracsez l’infame
Voltaire; “Crush the infamous thing”
Voltaires influence
His views influenced several “Enlightened Despots” including Frederick the Great of Prussia , Catherine the Great of Russia, Joseph II of Austria and Napoleon of France
Voltaire + Equality
Believed in equality before the law but not in the equality of classes
Baron de Montesquieu
A french noble who hated the absolutism of Louis XIV; Wrote “Spirit of the Laws;” Checks and Balances
Spirit of the Laws
Montesquieu; Called for the seperation of powers in the gov’t into three branches; Primary goal to prevent tyranny + promote liberty; Checks and Balances; Favored the British System of monarchy
Montesquieu’s impact
On the creation of the US consitution and French Revolution
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
“Social Contract;” Believed that too much emphasis on property and not enough consideration of people was root cause of social injustice; “General Will”
General Will
Rousseau; A consenus of the majority should control a nation; Strongly implied democracy; Downside: minority viewpoints not recognized; Later manipulated by dictators to rationalize extreme nationalism and tyranny
Rousseau & Noble Savage
That a man in a simpler state of nature was good and was corrupted by the materialism of civilization
Emile
Rousseau; Supported porgressive education; learning by doing; self-expression was encouraged; Argued against equality for women in society
The Encyclopedia
Diderot; The greatest and most representative work of the philosophes; A Compendium of political and social critique from various Enlightenment philosophers and authors; Popularized the views of the philosophes; Emphasized science and reason while criticizing religion; Was banned in France
Marquis di Beccaria
Wrote “On Crimes and Punishment;” Sought to humanize criminal law based on Enlightenment concepts of reason and equality before the law; Punishment for crime should be based on damage done to society; Opposed death penalty; Views influenced the Enlgihtenment Despots
Mercantilist theory were challenged by..
New economic ideas espousing free trade and a free market
