The Enlightenment

Locke
Declaration of Independence
Smith
Mott and Stanton
Douglas
Hume
Wolstonecraft
Lincoln
Kant

Major Themes in The Enlightenment

Enlightenment Powerpoint

The Natural Rights philosophy that we study in Intellectual Heritage reflects the central ideals of the Enlightenment, also called the Age of Reason (1660-1798). John Locke and Thomas Jefferson are just two of the many notable thinkers and writers who share Enlightenment values.

A basic list of these values would include the following:

• a deep commitment to reason,
• a trust in the emerging modern sciences to solve problems and provide control over nature,
• a commitment to the idea of progress in material wealth and in human civility,
• a belief in the essential goodness of human nature,
• an emphasis upon the individual as master of his fate and fortune, and
• an engagement with the public sphere of discussion and action.

In short, the Enlightenment thinkers believed in the powers of humankind and saw themselves as part of a revolutionary development in history that would replace superstition and tired rituals and corrupt traditions with reason and productive energy.

Perhaps the best way to grasp the Enlightenment project clearly is to identify what these thinkers were rejecting. They saw their societies as emerging from the darkness of superstition, ignorance, and intolerance -- much of that associated with the Medieval Catholic Church and with Feudal monarchy. In place of poetic mysteries and corporate authority, these new writers supported individual endeavor and innovation. For humankind to advance, however, people had to develop their powers of reason and leave behind their reliance on emotion and the special aura of superstitious belief. What lay ahead was a world of shared human action and thought (relying on reason, which provided a universal, cross-cultural, shared foundation). From that would come universal peace and prosperity and the opening of the competition for power and social prominence to the talented, rather than to those privileged by birth and station.

They believed that human beings -- once they were freed from superstition, their irrational religious and cultural heritage, and from material poverty -- could express their true good nature, seeking cooperation and mutual assistance. Similarly, they believed they could construct a social order that would respect fundamental human rights based upon the dignity of individuals and their freedom to shape their lives as they saw fit and the protections for personal property. Enlightenment thinkers also wished to awaken the sleeping giant of human productivity. If each individual soul must seek its fortune, then that person must be involved in producing wealth and power for himself. Opening the doors of opportunity to each person would bring about a world in which independent endeavor would produce a wealth of goods for all.

A key feature in the Enlightenment was the refashioning of religion. While many of these thinkers mention God, they most often mean the force for good rather than the biblical Lord. Many of these writers were Deists, which meant that they believed that a great force had fashioned the world, once and for all and perfectly, but was not available for personal appeals and miraculous interventions. The Great Watchmaker had fashioned a perfect world and then left it to us to discover its perfection and model ourselves upon the basic structures of goodness by which we were blessed. These basic structures could be identified and understood by reason, another gift provided us in our creation. Just as Sir Isaac Newton could discover the basic laws of physics that revealed the structure of matter in motion, thinkers in diverse fields, it was hoped, could discover the fundamental structures of politics, psychology, poetry, etc. that would help us understand how things were truly meant to be.

Nature itself was understood to be governed by fixed laws that mans reason could discover. The faith of the Enlightenment was that everything in creation was regulated by reason and that God had done so good a job of construction that the laws of nature and the laws of mind were the same. All that was needed to unravel the deepest mystery of nature was the application of reason in a concerted and programmatic way. When we had applied ourselves sufficiently we would find that Nature was intelligible and coherent.

Since reason is a universal force and not limited to any particular culture or to special geniuses or anointed ones, all human beings can participate in the broad public discussion concerning all topics, and especially politics. Public discussion allows all of us to sharpen our private understanding and to adjust our private passions to the general good. Of course, human beings must have the occasion to improve themselves through education and especially through exposure to the great philosophical writers who can assist the present age in learning to think, speak, and write clearly. Private enthusiasms were a danger to the intelligibility that we need in order to form clear understandings with others.

The prototypical human being for the Enlightenment is a man of mature years, living in a city, and involved in commerce, yet cultured and reasonably well educated. This man would also be active in the political life of his community and, although devoted to his own material welfare, would accept the responsibility of looking out for the welfare of others. He would, above all, not be a fanatic about anything but instead be guided by reason and what is reasonable. He would be married and have several children who would have been taught to moderate all excesses and to be reasonable and practical about their life choices. Sons might well see themselves with a future in trade or manufacture and perhaps even in the developing opportunities in far-flung places in the world (America, for example) where bringing waste lands into production was a noble and profitable aim. Daughters would have been provided a good education, especially in literature but including some science, although the role of wife and mother was still the goal. While such an ideal man of the Enlightenment might concern himself with salvation, more than likely he would be satisfied with improving his world and leaving it to his descendants in a form that would inspire them with the goal of further progress