1. Five Core Beliefs of the Enlightenment
Day 2

2. Background Info Looked to Greek/Roman scholars or Bible for truth
Renaissance
Reformation
Scientific Revolution

3. Ideas became five basic beliefs
Enlightenment
1650 to 1800
European philosophers revised old ideas of religion, economics, and gov
Ideas became five basic beliefs
In the wake of the Scientific Revolution, and the new ways of thinking it prompted, scholars and philosophers began to reevaluate old notions about other aspects of society. They sought new insight into the underlying beliefs regarding government, religion, economics, and education. Their
efforts spurred the Enlightenment, a new intellectual movement that stressed reason and thought and the power of individuals to solve problems. Known also as the Age of Reason, the movement reached its height in the mid-1700s and brought great change to many aspects of Western civilization.

4. The intellectuals of the Enlightenment were called philosophes & they shared five basic beliefs
1. Reason: New truths are discovered through logic & reason
2. Nature: Everything could be explained through natural laws
3. Happiness and 4.Progress: A belief in progress & that life should be enjoyed
5. Liberty: People are born with natural rights
The Philosophes Advocate Reason
The Enlightenment reached its height in France in the mid-1700s. Paris became the meeting place for people who wanted to discuss politics and ideas. The social critics of this period in France were known as philosophes (FIHL•uh•SAHFS), the French word for philosophers. The philosophes believed that people could apply reason to all aspects of life, just as Isaac Newton had applied reason to
science. Five concepts formed the core of their beliefs:
Reason
Enlightened thinkers believed truth could be discovered through reason or logical thinking.
2. Nature
The philosophes believed that what was natural was also good and reasonable.
3. Happiness
The philosophes rejected the medieval notion that people should find joy in the hereafter and urged people to seek well-being on earth.
4. Progress
The philosophes stressed that society and humankind could improve.
5. Liberty
The philosophes called for the liberties that the English people had won in their Glorious Revolution and Bill of Rights.

5. 1. Reason
New truths can be discovered only through reason and logical thinking
Rational not emotional
Apply scientific method to human life

6. 2. Nature That which is “natural” are predictable and reasonable
Natural law– laws of conduct discovered by reason
Ex—law of gravity
“Why not apply natural law to social, economic, and political problems?”

7. 3. Happiness It is a moral duty to pursue happiness here and now
Do not wait until the afterlife for happiness
Secularism and Individualism

8. 4. Progress
It is humanity’s goal to improve itself, its civilization, and its understanding of the world

9. 5. Liberty
All human beings are born free to choose how they should best live their life

10. Philosophes Enlightenment Thinkers Critics of society
Spread ideas through writing
“The Encyclopedia”
Handbook of the ideas
Most famous book
Many thinkers wrote different articles for the book

11. Takeaway: Question Authority! Rational over Emotional
Humanity can be changed through rational change

12. ‘Enlightenment is man’s emergence from his self-imposed immaturity
‘Enlightenment is man’s emergence from his self-imposed immaturity. Immaturity is the inability to use one’s understanding without guidance from another. This immaturity is self-imposed when its cause lies not in lack of understanding, but in lack of resolve and courage to use it without guidance from another. Dare to know! Have the courage to use your own understanding! That is the motto of enlightenment.’ - Immanuel Kant, 1784

13. Tomorrow: Enlightenment Thinkers
Homework:
Read either—
The Magna Carta and answer questions
The Mayflower Compact, 1620 and answer questions
Tomorrow:
You will be a expert in which ever one you will read
You will pair up with a expert in the other reading and you will need to “teach” them all about what you read
This is practice for the group activity we will do in class