The Enlightenment And The Positive Writings Of The Enlightenment

John Locke and Isaac Newton were the major intellectual forerunners of the Enlightenment.
Print culture was a culture in which books, journals, newspapers, and pamphlets had achieved a status of their own. The Enlightenment flourished in this.
The most influential philosophe was Voltaire. He wrote Letters on the English. The book praised the virtues of the English, especially their religious liberty, and criticized the abuses of French society.
Voltaire said Muhammad and Islam represented simply one more example of religious fanaticism he often criticized among Christians. John Toland contended that Islam derived from early Christian writings and was a form of Christianity. Edward Gibbon wrote with Muhammed’s leadership and Islam’s success in conquering so vast a territory in the 1st century of it’s existence. Some philosophe’s would criticize Islam on cultural and political grounds. Voltaire and Montesquieu were negative writers. Toland, Gibbon, and Montagu were positive writers.
The 2 major Jewish writers were Baruch Spinoza and Moses Mendelssohn.
Spinoza set the example for a secularized version of Judaism, and Mendelssohn established the main outlines of an assimilationist position.
David Hume wrote Inquiry Into Human Nature ( no empirical evidence that miracles exist) Voltaire wrote Philosophical Dictionary (using humor, pointed out inconsistencies in the Bible and immoral acts of Biblical heroes) Edward Gibbon wrote Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire ( explains the rise of Christianity through natural causes) Immanuel Kant wrote Religion within the Limits of Reason Alone ( religion as a humane force through which there can be virtuous
living.
Deism is religion and reason combined. John Toland promoted religion as natural and rational rather than supernatural and mystical. Deism is tolerant, reasonable, and capable of encouraging virtuous living.
The Enlightenment challenged the church and its concepts of “original sin”. The church was not just challenged for its thoughts but for its practices of not paying taxes, being rulers and religious leaders, and literary censorship.
Adam Smith wrote Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. He believed economic liberty was the foundation of a natural economic system. He urged that the mercantile system of England be abolished. He believed in the four-stage theory. Human societies can be classified as hunting and gathering, pastoral or herding, agricultural, or commercial.
Montesquieu was a lawyer, a noble of the robe, and a member of a provincial parlement. He wrote Spirit of the Laws which held uo the example of the British constitution as the wisest model for regulating the power of government. It might have been the most influential book of the century. Concluded that no single set of political laws could apply to all people at all times in all places. Best government for a country depended on a country’s size, population, social and religious customs, economic structure, traditions and climate. He believed in separation of powers so one part of the government would not be completely in control.
Rousseau had a different view from Montesquieu. He was a very awkward genius. He wrote Discourse on the Moral Effects of the Arts and Sciences (contended that the process of civilization and the Enlightenment had corrupted human nature.) He also wrote Discourse on the Origin of Inequality (blamed much of the evil in the world on the uneven distribution of property.) He also wrote The Social Contract (society is more important than its individual members and each person can maintain individual freedom while being a loyal member of a larger community.
Montesquieu believed in the equality of the sexes by had a traditional view of family and marriage. The Emcyclopedia suggested ways to improve womens’ lives, but did not suggest reform. Rousseau felt women should be subordinate to men. Mary Wollstonecraft defended equality of women with men based on human reason.
Rococo and Neo classical were the 2 styles of arts. Rococo embraced lavish decoration with pastel colors. Neo classical style are went back to the ancient world.
3 monarchs were Frederick II of Prussia, Joseph II of Austria, and Catherine II of Russia.
In Frederick II of Prussia promotion was earned through ment, rather than birth. There was religious toleration. They abolished torture and limited number of capital crimes. He embodied enlightened absolutism.
Joseph II of Austria embodied rational, impersonal force. He was a homeless person. Centralization of Authority was aimed to extend the empire at the expense of Poland, Bavaria, and the Ottoman Empire. Ecclesiastical Policies- religious toleration and bringing the Roman Catholic Church under royal control. Economic and Agrarian Reform improved the transportation and trade. It abolished serfdom and made land taxation.
Catherine the Great of Russia was born a German princess. She limited administrative reform- local control of nobility. She opened up trade and favored the expansion of the urban middle class. She expanded territory to warm weather ports along Baltic and Black seas.