The EnlightenmentPhilosophy in the Age of Reason

It was a sad and shocking tale that the young man told, and the old Frenchman who listened to it was deeply moved.The young man was Donat Calas, a youth whose family had been forced to flee in poverty and disgrace from the French city of Toulouse. His hearer was Voltaire, whose name was famous throughout Europe for his brilliant letters, pamphlets, plays, and satires.

Donat Calas told how, in 1761, his older brother Marc had been found hanged from the rafters of the family linen shop. Neighbors quickly accused the boy’s father, Jean Calas, of killing his son.

The story of murder was all lies, said Donat Calas. He explained that Jean Calas was a Huguenot, hated as a heretic by the Catholic citizens of Toulouse. Because they thought his religion was evil, they believed he would act in evil ways. Young Marc had planned to become a Catholic, said the neighbors, and so his father killed him.Voltaire

The neighbors told the story in courts, and the judges of Toulouse believed them. Jean Calas was tortured and then executed. The judges ordered all his property to be confiscated. The surviving members of the Calas family, including Donat, were driven from their home and fled to Switzerland.

Donat Calas wept as he described the misfortunes of his family. Of course, he repeated, his father was innocent. What had really happened was obvious… His moody and unhappy brother Marc had taken his own life. Jean His father was executed only because of prejudice against the Huguenots.

Donat Calas had found a sympathetic listener. Few people hated injustice and prejudice more than Voltaire. Voltaire had hundreds of influential friends in Europe. Voltaire would send a barrage of letters to his friends about the injustice done to Jean Calas and in turn his friends would write more letters.

French officials felt the sting of Voltaire’s pen. In 1765, three years after the execution of Jean Calas, King Louis XV overruled the Toulouse judges and declared Jean Calas an innocent man. His family could return to Toulouse, reclaim their property, and collect a large payment for the wrongs done to them.

Voltaire wept for joy at the news.The true victor in the struggle for justice was not Voltaire. Instead, it was reason.

Voltaire honored reason as if it were a kind of divine force. They hoped that, through the power of reason, society would make progress toward liberty and justice. In a society ruled by reason, they thought, injustice would disappear.

This period is the Age of Enlightenment, spanning roughly from 1720 to 1790, when scholars believed in the use of reasons and in the scientific method.

QUESTION.What does it mean to be enlightened?

The EnlightenmentWhat was it?An intellectual movement that brought together the teachings of the Renaissance and the Scientific Revolution to improve society, freeing the individual, and focusing on the happiness of humanity.

Where did it take place?Mainly in France, but all over Europe.

What were these intellectual thinkers called?Philosophes.

QUESTION.

How does ones life improve through the granting and protection of certain rights?

The EnlightenmentWhat did the philosophes advocate for?1. Reason2. Nature 3. Happiness 4. Progress 5. Liberty

THE ENLIGHTENMENT PROJECTDue Monday, November 2nd.

The Enlightenment Thinkers

John LockeBelieved…

Citizens did have the right to rebel.

Wrote…Two Treatises of Government where he explains:1. If a government fails its people, then those people have a right to overthrow it.2. People were reasonable and had natural rights.

QUESTIONS.

2. What are natural rights?

1. What events would John Locke inspire through his ideas?

Thomas HobbesBelieved…Citizens did not have a right to rebel.

Wrote…Leviathan where he explains:1. People were selfish and without government people would be left to their evil ways. 2. Believed people entered the social contract (idea): We give up some freedoms to have an organized society.

VoltaireFought against prejudice, corruption, superstition, and intolerance.

Wrote…Candide where he explains:“I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it.”

Jean-Jacques RousseauBelieved…That the only legitimate government was one that ruled with the consent of its people.

Divine monarchs did not have the right to to write legislation, the people did.

Wrote…The Social Contract (literature).“Man is born free, yet everywhere he is in chains.”

What does this mean?

MontesquieuBelieved… in the Separation of Powers

QUESTION.What is separation of powers?

MontesquieuBelieved… in the Separation of Powers

Three branches of government?

1. Executive2. Legislative3. Judicial

“Power should be to check power.”Montesquieu would heavily influence the American Revolution.

DiderotWrote…The Encyclopedia.

QUESTION.What is the encyclopedia?

DiderotWrote…The Encyclopedia.

Wanted to change the way of thinking by providing a collection of articles on important topics.

Mary WollstonecraftBelieved…In gender equality and challenged accepted gender roles.

Wrote A Vindication on the Rights of Woman where she:1. Called for equal education for men and women2. Disagreed with the notion that women were solely for domestic concerns

Adam SmithBelieved…In free trade, or a laissez-faire, form of government and economics.

Wrote…

QUESTION.What does laissez-faire mean?

Adam SmithSpoke of free trade, or a laissez-faire, form of government and economics.

Wrote… The Wealth of Nations which spoke of:1. The Law of Self-Interest2. The Law of Competition3. The Law of Supply and Demand