The Enlightenment in Europe and the Americas (Volume D)

Background classical ideals versus progress and modernity faith and imagination versus reason “I” as individual versus society God as a watchmaker, Deism reason: “the power by which man deduces one proposition from another, or proceeds from premises to consequences” (Dr. Johnson, Dictionary, 92). The late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries in England and France in particular were times of great tension between those who believed in ancient (or classical) ideals and those who believed in progress and modernity. Despite this tension between “ancients” and “moderns,” both groups believed in the primacy of reason (as opposed to, say, faith, or imagination, or intuition). Philosophers at this time explored the subjective “I,” trying to delineate precisely what it meant to be human (i.e., to be a reasoning, communicating, observing entity). Thinkers embraced Deism, and God was viewed as a watchmaker who never interfered with human action.

Background (continued) human reason freedom free market Kant, controlled politics problems with racism and slavery “progress” Enlightenment thinkers distinguished humans by the particular faculty of reason: unlike animals, humans had the capacity to think through relationships, between objects or events. They could establish cause and effect and follow logical arguments. “Freedom” was an important word for the period—freedom to use one’s own reason against traditional authorities, and the new science of economics trended toward a “free market” to produce wealth. Other thinkers, such as Kant, felt that (in politics) leaders should maintain discipline and restrict the masses in order to ensure an enlightened conversation without prejudice or superstition. The age also spawned a sense of European superiority, leading to problems of racism and slavery at the advent of “progress.” The image is an engraving of Louis XIV (1671) in the French Academy of Sciences. By Sebastien le Clerc.

Newton While some explored the possibility that there was no truth beyond the isolated, individual mind, others (like Newton) asserted that there were a fundamental set of physical laws that governed the universe. An important tension for Enlightenment philosophers and writers was that between the value of permanence and change. This manifested itself in almost all aspects of literary, philosophical, and political thinking. The image is a photograph of the Newtonian Refractor. The caption reads: “This is a replica of Newton’s second reflecting telescope of 1672.” Newton’s work on optics and splitting white light led him to believe that all refracting telescopes would suffer from chromatic aberration. His new design minimized this problem; however, due to problems with grinding the mirror, the new telescope caused more image distortions than other contemporary telescopes. Whipple Museum of the History of Science, Cambridge. Photograph by Andrew Dunn, November 5, 2004. www.andrewdunnphoto.com

Religion Deism scientific study as a divine or spiritual study individual and the universe Great Chain of Being Deism was a belief in God which understood the divine to be revealed only in His works, like the natural world itself, for example. Thus the “scientific” study of nature could be understood as, in part, the work of understanding the divine. Many Enlightenment philosophers explored the relationship between the individual and the universe. One widely shared idea posited a Great Chain of Being: a vast hierarchy that explained every creature’s relationship—above or below on the great chain—to all others. The image shows the Great Chain of Being, from the Retorica Christiana (1579) by Didacus Valdes.

Society social instability decorum, civility social hierarchy gender roles absence of children Despite—or maybe because of—its being an era of social instability, the Enlightenment was equally a time that emphasized rules of decorum and social civility. Elaborate social hierarchies emerged, with aristocratic elites at the top, a growing “middle” or working class, and the poor or enslaved at the bottom. Gender roles were rigid, and women, even of the upper class, enjoyed few opportunities for education or a profession. The topic of children is curiously absent from much Enlightenment writing, largely because the age believed so strongly in the capacity of reason to guide behavior and judgment, and children were not understood to possess a reasoning power developed enough to warrant much attention. The painting is titled The Topsy-Turvy World (1663) by Dutch painter Jan Steen and presents a satirical picture of the disarray in the household of the newly wealthy middle-class family.

Decorum suitable subjects proper language and style purpose of writing: to delight and to instruct artifice or reality? art’s purpose The idea of decorum extended into the literary world as well. Writers understood that there were proper genres and styles that were suitable for certain subjects. It would have been deemed “indecorous”—or lacking in decorum—,for example, to write about common, domestic subjects in a grand, poetic style. Enlightenment writers—and readers—understood that literature existed to both delight and instruct. Modern readers may often feel that eighteenth-century literature, given its emphasis on artifice, does a poor job of representing “reality.” However, eighteenth-century writers did not understand art’s goal as reproducing reality. On the contrary, they understood that art was to take real experience and represent it in a way that conformed to literary convention.

Alexander Pope “But ALL subsists by elemental strife; And Passions are the elements of Life. The general ORDER, since the whole began, Is kept in Nature, and is kept in Man” (An Essay on Man, lines 169–71). Through the seventeenth century, the growing belief in reason as the best guide to governance, ethics, and morality led to great social change, not least in regards to a faltering belief in the divine right of kings to rule absolutely over the social body—and thus the spirit of rebellion emerged in places like England and France, not to mention America. Alexander Pope in his Essay on Man, nevertheless, pointed out that passion also played a role in people’s decision making processes. The image is a portrait of Alexander Pope (ca. 1742) by Jean-Baptiste van Loo. Yale Library, New Haven.

Test Your Knowledge The Enlightenment was a time of great tension between the ideals of __________ . a. tradition and progress b. philosophy and literature c. poetry and drama d. religion and Deism Answer: A Section: The Enlightenment in Europe and the Americas Feedback: The late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries in England and France in particular were a time of great tension between tradition and progress; i.e., between those who believed in ancient (or classical) ideals and those who believed in progress and modernity. This tension can also be understood in terms of an allegiance to either permanence (tradition) or change (modernity).

Test Your Knowledge Enlightenment philosophers and writers, regardless of their belief in tradition or progress, tended to value which of the following? a. imagination b. natural philosophy c. reason d. realism Answer: C Section: The Enlightenment in Europe and the Americas Feedback: Despite this tension between “ancients” and “moderns,” both groups believed in the primacy of reason. The Romantic movement, which followed the Enlightenment, put much greater emphasis on imagination, partly as a reaction against what they perceived to be the limits of “reason.”

Test Your Knowledge The topic of children is largely absent from Enlightenment writing because __________. a. infant mortality was so high b. children were not understood to possess reason c. children were not taught to read until adulthood d. the topic of children was considered indecorous Answer: B Section: Society Feedback: The topic of children is curiously absent from much Enlightenment writing, largely because the age believed so strongly in the capacity of reason to guide behavior and judgment, and children were seen as lacking in reasoning power.

Test Your Knowledge What was “the Great Chain of Being” as Enlightenment thinkers understood it? a. a guide to proper behavior and decorum b. the historical royal lineage c. part of God as a “watchmaker” d. a hierarchy that put everything in its place Answer: D Section: Humanity and Nature Feedback: The “Great Chain of Being” was the vast hierarchy that explained every creature’s relationship—above or below on the great chain—to all others. God was at the very top, while devils and demons occupied the very bottom. Everything had its place.

Test Your Knowledge The Enlightenment ideal of decorum suggested that ____________. a. all subjects were fit for literature b. all literary genres were equally important c. literary subjects must be fitted to their appropriate genre d. genre was always more important than subject Answer: C Section: Convention and Authority Feedback: The eighteenth century was a time of great emphasis on decorum—proper behavior at the proper time. The idea of decorum extended into the literary world as well. Writers understood that there were proper genres and styles that were suitable for certain subjects. It would have been deemed “indecorous”—or lacking in decorum—for example, to write about common, domestic subjects in a grand, poetic style. In short, literary decorum means that subjects must be fitted to their appropriate genre.

This concludes the Lecture PowerPoint presentation for The Norton Anthology of World Literature