1. The Eighteenth Century: An Age of Enlightenment
Chapter 17
The Eighteenth Century:
An Age of Enlightenment

2. The Parisian salon of Madame Geoffrin (third figure from the right in the first row).

3. The Enlightenment Paths to Enlightenment
“Dare to know” – Immanual Kant
Scientific method to understand life
Popularization of Science
Bernard de Fontenelle ( ), Plurality of Worlds put science in a story form—more accessibility.
A New Skepticism
Attacked superstition, religious intolerance, and dogmatism
Skepticism about religion and growing secularization

4. The Legacy of Descartes, Bacon, and especially Newton
Through reasoning and using the Scientific Method people could discover natural laws that govern politics, economics justice, religion, and the arts (as they had done with the universe).

5. Newton

6. Hobbes Thomas Hobbes (1588 – 1679) Leviathan (1651)
People are nasty, brutish, and short tempered People form a social contract with a strong ruler to protect their rights (Life & Property) and themselves from each other—remember people are greedy and self serving
People have no right to rebel or change government.
Used the English Civil war as his evidence.

7. Hobbes

8. Locke John Locke (1632 – 1704) Essay Concerning Human Understanding
People are born with a “Tabla Rosa,” knowledge derived from the environment
People learn from mistakes and would generally do good things as opposed evil.
Two Treatises of Government
Natural Rights: Life, Liberty, and Property
People could form a sovereign government
If government does not fulfill its duties, people have the right to revolt or change government.
Used the Glorious Revolution was his evidence.

9. Locke

10. The Philosophes and their Ideas
Came from all walks of life
Paris was the “capital”
Desire to change the world
Call for a spirit of rational criticism
3 French Giants: Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Diderot

11. Map 17.1: The Enlightenment in Europe.
‘‘Have the courage to use your own intelligence!’’ Kant’s words epitomize the role of the individual in using reason to understand all aspects of life—the natural world and the sphere of human nature, behavior, and institutions.
Q Which countries or regions were at the center of the Enlightenment, and what could account for peripheral regions being less involved?
Map 17-1, p. 517

12. Montesquieu and Political Thought
Charles de Secondat, baron de Montesquieu ( )
Persian Letters, 1721
Attacks traditional religion, advocacy of religious toleration, denunciation of slavery, use of reason
The Spirit of the Laws, 1748; comparative study of 3 forms of government.
The best government has 3 separate branches (Executive, Legislative, and Judicial)
Check and Balance System

14. Voltaire and the Enlightenment
Francois-Marie Arouet, Voltaire ( )
Letters on the English (1733)
Advocates for representative government and free speech & press
Treatise on Toleration (1763)
Criticism of traditional religion & believer in Deism and advocate for religious toleration
Candied (1759)
Attacks traditional religion, politics, slavery, use of reason to figure it all out

15. Voltaire.
François-Marie Arouet, better known as Voltaire, achieved his first success as a playwright. A philosophe, Voltaire was well known for his criticism of traditional religion and his support of religious toleration. Maurice-Quentin de La Tour painted this portrait of Voltaire holding one of his books in 1736.
p. 519

16. Diderot and the Encyclopedia
Denis Diderot ( )
Encyclopedia, 28 volumes
Attacked religious superstition and advocated toleration
Lowered price helped to spread the ideas of the Enlightenment
Knowledge is power
Women and men were equal in mind

17. Denis Diderot.
Editor of the monumental Encyclopedia, Diderot was a major figure in propagating the ideas of the French philosophes. He had diverse interests and penned an incredible variety of literary works. He is shown here in a portrait by Jean-Honoré Fragonard.
p. 519

18. The Later Enlightenment
Jean-Jacques Rousseau ( )
Discourse on the Origins of the Inequality of Mankind ( 1762)
Preservation of private property had enslaved people.
Social Contract (1762)
Tried to harmonize individual liberty with governmental authority. Concept of “General Will” of the people. People need to be educated to follow it or they…must die.
Emile (1762) Important work on education of boys and girls, does not believe in equality of men and women.

19. Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
By the late 1760s, a new generation of philosophes arose who began to move beyond and even to question the beliefs of their predecessors. Of the philosophes of the late Enlightenment, Rousseau was perhaps the most critical of his predecessors. Shown here is a portrait of Rousseau by Maurice-Quentin de La Tour.
p. 523

20. Crime and Punishment
Eighteenth Century punishment still included torture, horrific punishments, and forced labor.
Cesare Beccaria ( )
On Crimes and Punishments (1764)
Punishment should serve only as deterrent
Punishment moved away from spectacle towards rehabilitation
No cruel and unusual treatment or capital punishment

22. Toward a New “Science of Man”
David Hume
Treatise on Human Nature
Observation and reflection grounded in common sense = science of man
Physiocrats and Adam Smith are seen as the founders of modern economics
François Quesnay ( )
Leader of the Physiocrat – natural economic laws
Rejection of mercantilism
Free market and Land equals wealth

23. Adam Smith & Laissez-Faire Economics
The Wealth of Nations, 1776
Attack on mercantilism
Advocate of free trade (liberal economics)
Economy guided by “Invisible Hand” (Supply and Demand)
Government has only three basic functions
Protect society from invasion and piracy on the high seas
Defend individuals from injustice and oppression
Keep up public works (roads, bridges, canals, etc.)

25. Social Environment of the Philosophes
Salons
The influence of women
Marie-Thérèse de Geoffrin ( )
Marquise du Deffand ( )

26. The “Woman’s Question” in the Enlightenment
Most Philosophes agree that the nature of women make them inferior
There were some exceptions, for example Diderot
Mary Astell ( )
A Serious Proposal to the Ladies, 1697
Better education and equality in marriage
Mary Wollstonecraft
Vindication of the Rights of Woman, 1792
Subjection of women by men is wrong
Advocated for Education and property rights for women

28. World of Medicine University of Leiden Royal College of Physicians
Barber-surgeons
Apothecaries, midwives, and faith healers
Hospital conditions

29. Chronology, p. 526

30. Innovations in Art, Music, and Literature
Rococo Art
Characteristics
Antoine Watteau ( )
Fragility and transitory nature of pleasure, love, and life
Baroque-Rococo architectural style
Balthasar Neumann ( )
Secular and spiritual interchangeable
Baroque Music
Johann Sebastian Bach ( )
George Frederick Handel ( )
Franz Joseph Haydn ( )
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart ( )

31. Antoine Watteau, Return from Cythera.
Antoine Watteau was one of the most gifted painters in eighteenth-century France. His portrayal of aristocratic life reveals a world of elegance, wealth, and pleasure. In this painting, which is considered his masterpiece, Watteau depicts a group of aristocratic lovers about to depart from the island of Cythera, where they have paid homage to Venus, the goddess of love. Luxuriously dressed, they move from the woodlands to a golden barge that is waiting to take them from the island.
p. 527

32. Vierzehnheiligen, Exterior View.
Balthasar Neumann, one of the most prominent architects of the eighteenth century, used the Baroque-Rococo style of architecture to design some of the most beautiful buildings of the century. Pictured here is the exterior of his pilgrimage church of the Vierzehnheiligen (Fourteen Saints), located in southern Germany.
p. 528

33. Vierzehnheiligen, Interior View.
Pictured here is the interior of the Vierzehnheiligen, the pilgrimage church designed by Balthasar Neumann. Elaborate detail, blazing light, rich colors, and opulent decoration were blended together to create a work of stunning beauty. The pilgrim in search of holiness is struck by an incredible richness of detail. Persuaded by joy rather than fear, the believer is lifted toward heaven on a cloud of rapture.
p. 528

34. Jacques-Louis David, Oath of the Horatii.
The Frenchman David was one of the most famous Neoclassical artists of the late eighteenth century. To immerse himself in the world of Classical antiquity, he painted the Oath of the Horatii in Rome. Thanks to its emphasis on patriotic duty, the work became an instant hit in both Paris and Rome.
p. 529

35. Mozart as Child Prodigy.
This painting, done in Paris in 1763 or 1764, shows the seven-year-old Mozart playing at the harpsichord while his composer father, Leopold, plays the violin and his sister, Nannerl, sings. Crowds greeted the young Mozart enthusiastically throughout the family’s three-year tour of northern Europe.
p. 530

36. Development of the Novel
Decisive time in the development of the novel
Samuel Richardson
Virtue Rewarded
Henry Fielding
The History of Tom Jones

37. The High Culture of the Eighteenth Century
Characteristics
Increased readership and publishing
Development of magazines and newspapers for the general public
Joseph Addison and Richard Steele’s Spectator
Female Spectator
Education and Universities

38. A London Coffeehouse.
Coffeehouses first appeared in Venice and Constantinople but quickly spread throughout Europe by the beginning of the eighteenth century. In addition to drinking coffee, patrons of coffeehouses could read magazines and newspapers, exchange ideas, play chess, smoke, and engage in business transactions. In this scene from a London coffeehouse of 1705, well-attired gentlemen make bids on commodities.
p. 532

39. Popular Culture Festivals, carnivals, and fairs Gathering places
Taverns and Alcohol
The gap between high culture and popular culture
Literacy and Primary Education
Spread of literacy
State-supported primary schools
Hannah More

40. Popular Culture: Carnival.
Pictured here in a painting by Giovanni Signorini is a scene from the celebration of Carnival on the Piazza Santa Croce in Florence, Italy. Carnival was a period of festivities before Lent, celebrated in most Roman Catholic countries. Carnival became an occasion for indulgence in food, drink, games, practical jokes, and merriment, all of which are evident here.
p. 535

41. Religion and the Churches
The Catholic and Protestant Churches were conservative
Church-State relations
Community activities of the churches
Toleration and Religious Minorities
Toleration and the Jews
Experiences of Ashkenazi Jews (Poland & Austria)
Experiences of Sephardic Jews (Spanish Jews who moved to Amsterdam, Venice, and London)
Some Enlightenment thinkers favored acceptance of the Jews
Joseph II
Limited reforms toward the Jews (no extra taxes)

42. Map 17.2: Religious Populations of Eighteenth-Century Europe.
Christianity was still a dominant force in eighteenth-century Europe—even many of the philosophes remained Christians while attacking the authority and power of the established Catholic and Protestant churches. By the end of the century, however, most monarchs had increased royal power at the expense of religious institutions.
Q To what extent were religious majorities geographically concentrated in certain areas, and what accounted for this?
Map 17-2, p. 537

43. Popular Religion in the Eighteenth Century
Catholic Piety
Protestant Revivalism
John Wesley ( )
Methodist societies
Brought the Gospel to the people

44. John Wesley.
In leading a deep spiritual revival in Britain, John Wesley founded a religious movement that came to be known as Methodism. He loved to preach to the masses, and this 1766 portrait by Nathaniel Hope shows him as he might have appeared before a crowd of people.
p. 538

45. Timeline, p. 540

46. Discussion Questions
What do you see as a possible reason the Enlightenment was centered in France?
Why and when did it emerge?
Do you see any connection between Enlightenment and changes in gender relations throughout Western Europe?
How did the Enlightenment affect the idea of Crime and Punishment?

47. Web Links Immanual Kant Isaac Newton John Locke Adam Smith
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
John Wesley