The Enlightenment

When the writers, philosophers and scientists of the eighteenth

century referred to their activities as the "Enlightenment," they
meant that they were breaking from the past and replacing the
obscurity, darkness, and ignorance of European thought with
the "light" of truth.

Enlightenment is mans emergence from his self-imposed
minority. () Minority is the lack of resolution and courage to
use ones own understanding . () Dare to be wise! Have
the courage to use your own understanding! This is the motto of
the Enlightenment. (Immanuel Kant) the intellectual weapon
chosen by the bourgeoisie to abolish established hierarchies in
favour of freedom and equality the principles of the French
Revolution (1789-1799)

The legacy of the seventeenth century:
- The universe is fundamentally rational, that is, it can be
understood through the use of reason alone;
- Truth can be arrived at through empirical observation, the
use of reason, and systematic doubt;
- Human experience is the foundation of human
understanding of truth; authority (Bacons idols of the
theatre) is not to be preferred over experience;
- All human life, both social and individual, can be
understood in the same way the natural world can be
understood; once understood, human life, both social and
individual, can be manipulated or engineered in the same
way the natural world can be manipulated or engineered;
seventeenth century thinkers moved away from religious and
moral explanations of human behavior and interactions and
towards an empirical analysis and mechanistic explanation
of the laws of human behavior and interaction.
- Human beings can be improved through education and the
development of their rational capacities;
- Religious doctrines have no place in the understanding of
the physical and human worlds;
- Human history is largely a history of progress;

Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) - the first major thinker of the
seventeenth century to apply new methods to the human
sciences; Leviathan is one of the most revolutionary and
influential works on political theory in European history; he
arrived at two radical conclusions:

1. All human law derives from natural law; when human law
departed from natural law, disaster followed;
2. All monarchs ruled not by the consent of heaven, but by
the consent of the people democracy
John Locke (1632-1704) - the last important philosopher,
besides Pascal and Descartes, of human sciences in the
seventeenth century; by the end of the seventeenth century he
wrote two massively influential works: An Essay Concerning
Human Understanding (1690) and Two Treatises on
Government (1690).
Human mind = tabula rasa (an erased board with no pre-formed
ideas); the senses fill the empty mind with objects of sensation
human mind is completely empirical (relies exclusively on
the information provided by the senses); the only knowledge is
empirical knowledge.

Consequences: 1) every human being enters the world with all
the same capacities; all moral behavior arises from one's
empirical experiences immoral behavior is primarily a product
of the environment rather than the individual change the
environment = change the individual; extension of education to
every member of society
2) Since every human being walked into the world with the
same capacities as every other human being inequality
was an unnatural result of the environments that individuals
are forced to live in; human beings have a natural inclination
to preserve their equality and independence humans enter
into social contracts only to help settle disputes between
individuals or groups. Absolute power, then, is an unnatural
development in human history and anarchy likewise is
detrimental to human well-being.
- the purpose of authority is to protect human equality and
freedom; this is why social groups agree to a "social contract"
that places an authority over them. When that authority
ceases to care for the welfare, independence, and equality of
individual humans, the social contract is broken and it is the
duty of the members of society to overthrow that ruler.
British empiricism: John Locke,
David Hume, George Barkeley
Empiricism - knowledge arises from sense experience
there is no such thing as a priori knowledge; the mind is a
tabula rasa (Locke used the words "white paper") on which
experiences leave their marks denies the existence of
innate ideas or the possibility of knowing without reference
to experience
Skepticism questioning the reliability of certain statements
by subjecting them to a systematic investigation the
scientific method of inquiry; Descartes applies global
skepticism in his attempt to find absolute certainty; Hume -
applies extreme/radical skepticism: the mind is nothing
else but a series of sensations and knowledge a matter of
habit which may lead to unjustifiable beliefs
The aesthetics of the Enlightenment:
Art should imitate Nature
Rococo (Late Baroque) = the art of the aristocracy
a style associated mainly with the first half of the
18
th
century characterized by asymmetry, elegant,
delicate decorations and a masterly use of mirrors,
silks, brocades and stucco (Rom. tencuiala de
gips) = highly ornate style; in contrast to the
heavier themes and darker colors of the Baroque,
the Rococo was characterized by opulence, grace,
playfulness, and lightness (Rom. frivolitate);
Rococo motifs focused on the carefree aristocratic
life and on lighthearted romance rather than heroic
battles or religious figures.
Joshua Reynolds

Thomas Gainsborough

Neoclassicism the style of the latter part of the 18
th

century (showed a renewed interest in Classical antiquity);
in architecture the English Palladian revival

"Palladian" normally
refers to buildings in a
style inspired by
Palladio's work
(Venetian architect
16
th
century); strong
emphasis on symmetry
and perspective