HIST362: Modern Revolutions

During the Enlightenment, several key philosophers shaped the way people viewed the Enlightenment itself and the growing socioeconomic and political changes it engendered. Immanuel Kant (1724–1804), a German philosopher, encouraged individuals to think for themselves rather than exhibit blind obedience to political authority. Kant wrote that Enlightenment is built on man's ability to use his own reason, which takes courage. He argued that most people reject Enlightenment out of cowardice and laziness: they are unwilling to break away from the domination of others, particularly church leaders, government officials, and educators. Domination by these powerful people restricts one's individual freedom. Kant believed he did not live in an enlightened age but in an age that was moving toward Enlightenment and that people would gradually learn to think for themselves over time. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778), a Swiss philosopher, wrote "The Social Contract", in which he argued that humans are born free but coerced into economic and social dependence. Political and social covenants should restore this lost freedom. Rousseau believed that legitimate civil authority is only derived from civil contracts that both sides enter freely. In other words, to be legitimate, citizens must enter a civil contract with a government willingly. In this civil society, each individual works for their own best interest. Collectively, these individual wills support and benefit the general will, which Rousseau called "the sovereign ".In this system, the will of the majority rules. Each person who enters this social contract agrees to abide by laws the government passes, even when they disagree with them. Nicolas de Condorcet (1743–1794), a French philosopher and mathematician, believed continual progress led toward the perfection of mankind. He argued that the progress the Enlightenment promoted, especially in the areas of science and social thought, would lead to an increasingly perfect human state. Understanding health, wealth creation, and industry would eventually lead to the elimination of disease, poverty, and suffering. Through knowledge, humans are capable of unlimited progress. Watch this lecture. Focus on the different meanings of the Enlightenment among the intellectual elites and in popular culture. What did the Enlightenment thinkers focus on? What did they critique? How was the influence of the intellectuals different from that on the "street"?