Lecture Notes: The Eighteenth Century: An Age of Enlightenment

Major Concepts

• Enlightenment: Application of scientific rationalism to political and economic ideas.
• Challenging Traditional Norms:
  • Voltaire & Diderot: Promoted enlightened despotism and deism.
  • Locke & Rousseau: Introduced natural law and natural rights, challenging absolutism.
  • Adam Smith: Advocated for free trade, challenging mercantilist theories.
• Women's Role: Participation in salons; debates on their rights.
• Arts Transition: From Baroque to reflecting enlightened middle-class values.

Enlightenment Thematic Questions

• Impact of scientific thought on Enlightenment ideas.
• Voltaire's challenge to political, religious, societal norms.
• Locke's influence on Rousseau and others.
• Adam Smith's challenge to mercantilism.
• Women's participation in Enlightenment.
• Differences between Neoclassical and Baroque art.
• Enlightenment's influence on literature.
• Comparisons to the Italian Renaissance.

Key Figures and Ideas

• Philosophes: Popularized scientific ideas, contextualized them within all aspects of life.
• Marie-Thérèse de Geoffrin: Hosted influential salons promoting Enlightenment ideas.
• Immanuel Kant: Defined Enlightenment as man’s escape from self-imposed immaturity.

Popularization of Science

• Bernard de Fontenelle: Communicated scientific knowledge in accessible ways.
• Pierre Bayle: Criticized religious intolerance, advocated religious tolerance.
• Travel Literature: Opened European minds to cultural relativism and skepticism.

Intellectual Foundations

• John Locke: Denied innate ideas, proposed the mind as a "blank slate" shaped by experience.
• Isaac Newton: Laws of nature applied to human society.

The Philosophes and Their Ideas

• Montesquieu: Separation of powers, influenced U.S. Constitution.
• Voltaire: Criticized traditional religion, advocated deism.
• Diderot: Criticized Christianity, promoted Encyclopedia to spread Enlightenment ideas.
• Rousseau: Social Contract theory, questioned societal norms, precursor to Romanticism.

Social Environment

• Importance of salons and women's role in spreading Enlightenment ideas.
• Social reform discussions in salons, coffeehouses, reading clubs, and societies like the Freemasons.

Cultural and Artistic Developments

Art and Music

• Rococo Style: Emphasis on grace, gentle action, and secular themes.
• Neoclassicism: Return to Classical simplicity and dignity.
• Music: Development of classical music; figures like Bach, Handel, Haydn, and Mozart.

Literature

• Rise of the novel as a literary form, with themes of inner feeling and moral criticism.
• Voltaire's Candide: Critique of religion and societal norms.

High Culture vs. Popular Culture

• High Culture: Dominated by educated elite; supported by aristocracy and upper classes.
• Popular Culture: Group activities like festivals, Carnival, and taverns.
• Growth in literacy, public libraries, and printed material distribution.

Religion and the Churches

• Protestant Revivalism: Pietism in Germany, Methodism in England by John Wesley.
• Catholicism: Persisting traditional religious practices despite Enlightenment rationalism.
• Church-State Relations: Increasing state control over churches.
• Tolerance: Gradual moves toward religious tolerance, though Jews remained marginalized.

Summary

• Enlightenment fostered rationalism, critique of tradition, and laid the foundation for modern secular and rational society.
• Despite its focus on reason, religious sentiment and traditional practices persisted, showing the tension between new ideas and traditional beliefs.

Major Figures to Know

• Immanuel Kant, Voltaire, John Locke, Isaac Newton, Montesquieu, Rousseau, Diderot, Adam Smith.

Key Terms

• Enlightenment, Skepticism, Cultural Relativism, Philosophes, Cosmopolitan, Deism, Laissez-faire, Economic Liberalism, Romanticism, Feminism, Rococo, Neoclassicism, High Culture, Popular Culture, Pietism.