1. ENGL 3363.P1 C. Gazzara Derived from http://marhabib.org/intros/enlightenment.html

2. Redefinitions… Broad intellectual tendency Spans philosophy, literature, language, art, religion and political theory Lasts from around 1680 until the end of the eighteenth century Somewhat reductive affiliation to “the age of reason” Thinkers not uniform in their outlooks Humanitarian, intellectual and social progress Increase in human reason to subjugate analytically both the external world of nature and the human self Rid human thought and institutions of irrational prejudice and superstition Foster a society free of feudal caprice, political absolutism and religious intolerance Moral and political choices best made on the foundations of rationality and freedom Political economy: Enlightenment thought  rise of liberalism/bourgeois class power Reason as a byproduct of economics, particularly banking/investment/trade and manufacture Profound implications for the status of science and technology.

3. Reverberations… Still a profound effect on our world Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) and his influence A Mechanical Universe over Divine Providence Reason as counter to old traditions of thought/institutional practice But reliance on reason was in itself nothing new: (Plato/Aristotle) Mediaeval Christian philosophy (balanced by faith and revelation) Hence, the CONSTRAINTS of reason  limitations within a broader pattern of human faculties Enlightenment  reason  knowledge  potentially limitless Reason no longer presuppose faith/divine revelation Man over Church/State/tradition/convention/powerful individual/s Still evident in modern democracies even today: e.g., Alexis de Tocqueville

4. Locke John Locke (1632-1704) An Essay Concerning Human Understanding and Two Treatises on Civil Government (1690) The mind has no "innate ideas” Tabula rasa, or blank slate, on which we experience Ideas from experience (sensatsion/reflection) Senses dictate distinct ideas of objects ion external world (yellow, white, hard, cold or soft) Reflection dictates internal operation of our own minds (perception, thinking, doubting, reasoning and believing) Sensations + Reflections = "the fountains of knowledge" No other source of knowledge or ideas Insistence on clear and distinct ideas Blames the misuse or abuse of language

5. In groups… prepare informal answers to any two of the following… DISCUSSION QUESTIONS— What suggestions does Locke give to the reader of his Essay? What does he hope the reader will take away from the reading? How did the Essay originate? How did it evolve? What do the conditions for writing the essay tell us about its content? Whom does he exclude from his intended audience for the Essay and why? What does he hope to contribute to the “commonwealth” of learning? What is a determinate idea? What is a determined idea? How will an understanding of such ideas in appropriate language end many disputes? How are Locke’s ideas in this excerpt “radical,” “individualistic,” or threatening? --be prepared to discuss when I announce; nothing to be collected