How Did We Get Sooo Modern? Placing the 20th C. in Context

The 18th C. & the AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT Industrial revolution supplies the pot in which the Enlightenment can stew Thinkers from Paris and London: Descartes, Pascal, Voltaire, Diderot, Rousseau, etc. Human reason can combat ignorance, superstition & tyranny Provided basis for French & American revolutions Rise of capitalism & socialism Targets organized religion Hereditary aristocracy

Basic Tenets of the Enlightenment Autonomy of reason The world can progress and approach perfection We can discover causality Principles govern nature man society

Rene Descartes:1596-1650 "father" of modern philosophy integrate philosophy with the "new" sciences he may doubt, he cannot doubt that he exists “I think, therefore I am. Focus: “reason,” abstraction, & definition

Sir Isaac Newton(1642-1727): Mathematician and physicist Focus: OBSERVATION EXPERIENCE Fundamental Cosmic laws applicable from the tinniest object to the entire universe During Enlightenment, Newton’s analytical methods are applied to every arena of thought and knowledge Order arises from the analysis of observed facts

Have you had your apple today? Discovers gravity Asserts the force governing the motion of the apple also determines the motion of the moon Orbits travel in an ellipse

Newton’s Mechanical Universe Mathematical models can explain the behavior of the universe Universe functions rationally & predictably Gravity explains the consistent & mechanical movement of universe Theology & religion are no longer necessary to explain physical phenomena of universe

Well then, what about God? Universe resembles a clock built by God God sets the universe in motion Follows concept of INERTIA: every object rests until moved by another object; every object in motion stays in motion until redirected or stopped by another object God “starts” the world and steps back

AND IF…The universe is a machine we can understand through observation THEN … SO CAN HISTORY, ECONOMICS, POLITICS, HUMAN CHARACTER AND THEY CAN BE ENGINEERED OR IMPROVED LIKE MACHINES

The Rise of Deism Newton separates the mechanical universe from religious explantion If the universe was created by God and is also rational  God is rational To understand the workings of the universe is to understand the mind of God Therefore, religion itself is rational

The Prevalence of English Deism Impersonal deity Common morality of all humans Faith in humanity Assumed that man is guided by reason Rejection of original sin Salvation comes through social contract Man must save himself

Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) Converting Knowledge into a Rational System

Medicine & the Enlightenment Body as natural system that functioned predictably & rationally = it operated like a machine Disease is a malfunction Study of disease known as pathology Blood circulation, inoculation, anatomy, microscopic anatomy

The Enlightenments Impact on History Historical truth derives from objective review of the human record Man evolves and progresses Laws govern both heavenly & earthly matters Laws give power to kings power rather than kings giving power to laws. Viva la France! Law seen as a relationship between people Increasing focus on individual liberty Enlightenment sought reform of monarchy

The Pendulum Swings: Romanticism Romantics view the Enlightenment hyper rational Dehumanizing Emotionally restrictive Superficial source of knowledge Romantics critical of industrial revolution, middle class materialism Celebrates the “I,” Nature, feeling & imagination Belief in man’s innate goodness

THE NOBLE SAVAGE 18th C. – increased travel Expansion of British Empire & colonialism Europeans considered their civilization advanced” They encountered the “noble savage ” Reinforced notion of progress Reinforced ideas of a universal moral sense inherent in man

The Deep Sea Cables by Rudyard Kipling 1896

Nearing the End: Fin de Siecle (The End of an Age) Late Victorian reaction to rigid moral system The approach of the 20th C. Daring new styles, attitudes, behavior Artists broke from moral constraints & emphasized spirituality, sensuality, love Era that coined the terms homosexual, lesbian, heterosexual

ART FOR ART’S SAKE Life should copy art Rebellion against Victorian morals Defied notion that art had a moral or didactic purpose Art is not utilitarian valuable simply as art need only be beautiful Can be enjoyed apart from its representational subject matter Concept is precursor to abstract art Life should copy art Whistler’s Nocturne in black & gold: the falling rocket Whistler’s Nocturne in Black & Gold: The Falling Rocket 1874