1.

General

- When did the Enlightenment begin?

The Enlightenment began in the late 17th century and continued through the 18th century.

- How did the people in the Enlightenment think of human, God, and society?
 Human: Enlightenment thinkers often distinguished humans by their unique ability to
reason. Unlike animals, they argued, humans could understand the connections
between objects or events. They were capable of establishing cause and effect and
following logical arguments.
 God: Despite the lack of complete agreement on religion among Enlightenment
thinkers, nearly all of them encouraged individuals to rely on their own experiences—
human perception, intelligence, and reason—rather than on divine or priestly
authority to find truth and guide their actions in the world.
 Society: Many thinkers, keen to accelerate social progress, advocated for extensive
social reforms, including the creation of new legal systems to protect natural and
inalienable human rights. Others, appalled by the corruption within traditional
aristocracies and clergy, believed that true progress could not be achieved without
revolution.

- Write down some crucial keywords which describe the main characteristics of the
Enlightenment.
Freedom, Cosmopolitan, Travelers, Rationality, Reason, Equally, Liberties, Enlightenment
Thinkers, Science

2. René Descartes’ The Discourse on Method

- Summarize the main methods Descartes believes that he, and the people in general, should
do in solving problems.
Descartes believes 4 sufficient:
 Never accept anything as true without clear recognition: Descartes stresses the
importance of only accepting as true what is clearly and distinctly understood to be
so, avoiding assumptions or beliefs based on uncertainty.
 Divide difficulties into manageable parts: He recommends breaking down complex
problems into as many smaller, more manageable parts as possible to better analyze
and solve them.
 Begin with the simplest objects: Descartes suggests starting with the simplest and
most easily understood elements, and then gradually progressing to more complex
ideas, ensuring a logical and clear progression of thought.
 Conduct thorough and comprehensive reviews: He emphasizes making complete
enumerations and wide surveys to ensure that nothing is overlooked, thus minimizing
errors and ensuring thoroughness in problem-solving.

- What does Descartes discuss when he says, “I think, therefore I am”?

 Descartes rejected all the reasons he previously accepted as proof, realizing that even
our most vivid thoughts while awake might be just as false as dreams.
 Descartes examined his own existence and found that he could imagine not having a
body or a world, but he could not doubt that he existed. He discovered that his essence
 is to think, and this thinking existence does not depend on physical objects or
locations.
 Descartes then thought about what makes a statement true and realized that the very
act of doubting something proves his existence, since thinking requires existence.
 Ultimately, Descartes believed that if something is true, it relies on his nature, and if it
is not true, it is due to his own imperfection. He concluded that existence is self-
evident and cannot be denied.

3. Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond D’Alembert: The Encyclopédie

- How do beasts differ from human being according to the encyclopedists’ definition?
People use the term "beast" to distinguish them from humans. For example, it is said that
"man has a soul, but some philosophers argue that beasts do not have one at all." Beasts lack
the supreme advantages of human beings. However, they possess certain advantages that we
do not: they do not have our hopes, but they also do not experience our fears. They face death
just as we do, but without the awareness of it. Most beasts take better care of themselves and
do not misuse their passions as much as humans do.

- Summarize in a paragraph of about 100 words the role of education in the development of
children according to the encyclopedists’ idea.
Education involves the nurturing, upbringing, and instruction of children, aiming at their
physical health, mental rectitude, and social conduct. Children must be prepared for society,
making their education crucial for their future usefulness, esteem, and well-being. Every
child requires education, as none are born fully instructed. A state's benefit lies in leaders
who are educated early, understanding history's lessons on empire stability and revolution.
Such leaders are taught their responsibilities to their subjects, the nature and limits of their
authority, and that the key to maintaining and respecting their power is through its wise and
just use.

- Summarize the encyclopedists’ definition of political authority in a paragraph of about 100

words.
Parental control is the only authority established by nature, and even it has limits, ending
when children can care for themselves. Any other authority arises from sources beyond
nature. When considering this issue deeply, it becomes clear that authority originates from
one of two sources: either the force and violence of an individual who has seized it, or the
consent of those who have submitted to it through an explicit or implicit contract with the
person they have granted authority. Thus, authority is either taken by force or given through a
collective agreement by the governed.

4. Benjamin Franklin
Enumerate the jobs Franklin ever took and the inventions he did during his life.
 The jobs Franklin ever took: started his adult life as a printer, moving to Philadelphia
to become a successful businessman, inventor, scientist, writer, musician, diplomat,
and signatory to the Declaration of Independence and the United States Consitution.
 His inventions: swimming fins, bifocal glasses, discovered new sources of electricity,
founded or improved libraries, hospitals, insurance companies, and volunteer fire
departments.

5. Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels

* In chapter 1 of part IV
- Who are Gulliver’s companions in his journey this time? What is the main purpose of his
journey this time? How do his sailors treat him?
In this journey, Gulliver's companions include Robert Purefoy, a skillful young man, and
Captain Pocock. The main goal of their expedition is to explore the world and trade goods
with the residents of the South Seas. However, many of his sailors succumb to ‘calentures,’ a
fever of the Tropics, forcing Gulliver to recruit new sailors along the way. Influenced by
these new recruits, his crew mutinies and turns to piracy, keeping Gulliver imprisoned in his
cabin while they trade with locals. Ultimately, the crew conspires against him, confines him
for an extended period, and eventually abandons him on an unknown shore.

- What does Gulliver do when he is left in the island? What are the characteristics of the
island? What creatures does he encounter in the island? What are their features?

 After being left on the island, Gulliver initially sat down to contemplate his next
move. He then decided to venture inland and surrender himself to the first savages he
encountered, hoping to buy his safety with bracelets, glass rings, and other trinkets
that sailors typically carried on such voyages, some of which he had with him.
 The land was segmented by long rows of naturally growing trees, rather than being
systematically planted. It had an abundance of grass and numerous fields of oats.
 On the island, Gulliver encountered animals with thick hair covering their heads and
chests, with some having frizzled hair and others having straight hair. They had
beards like goats and a long strip of hair running down their backs, as well as on the
fronts of their legs and feet, while the rest of their bodies were bare, revealing brown
buff-colored skin. They had no tails or hair on their buttocks except around the anus.
These creatures climbed trees with remarkable agility, using strong, sharp, hooked
claws on both their fore and hind limbs. They often sprang, bounded, and leaped with
impressive dexterity. The females were smaller than the males, with long, lank hair on
their heads and only a fine down on the rest of their bodies, except around the anus
and genital area. Their fur came in various colors, including brown, red, black, and
yellow.

- What is the horses’ attitude to Gulliver when he encounters them? What does he think about
them?
The horse carefully observed Gulliver with curiosity and then neighed in a complex pattern.
Soon, another horse approached, and the two began what seemed like a conversation.
Gulliver attempted to leave, but one of the horses summoned him back. The horses were
particularly intrigued by Gulliver’s clothing, which they kept pointing at and discussing.
Gulliver was so impressed by their apparent intelligence that he concluded they must be
magicians who had transformed themselves into horses. He spoke to them directly, asking to
be taken to a house or village.

* In chapter 2 of part IV
- Why does Gulliver bring some toys together in his journey?
Travelers typically bring such items to offer to the native people of America and other
regions, hoping that these gifts will encourage them to welcome the traveler kindly.

- When entering the building, which is the horses’ house, what does Gulliver think of when
he sees the hosts? Who else does he see in addition to the hosts? What is the relationship
between these creatures to the hosts?
  Gulliver believed that the house belonged to someone of great importance and
questioned why such a person would have horses as servants. For the first time, he
began to doubt his own sanity, as the highly civilized nature of the Houyhnhnms
challenged his understanding of traits typically thought to be exclusive to humans.
Observing that the Houyhnhnms even had servants, which were ordinary horses, led
him to conclude that anyone capable of civilizing such animals must possess wisdom
surpassing that of all other nations.
 Gulliver was taken to a building far from the main house, where he saw three of the
crude, hairy creatures he had noticed earlier, chained to the wall. These creatures were
eating roots and the carcasses of animals that had died accidentally, such as donkeys,
dogs, and cows. The horse leader instructed ‘the sorrel nag’ to unchain one of these
creatures and bring it to Gulliver. As Gulliver observed the creature up close, he
realized that it did indeed resemble a human. While their hands had untrimmed nails,
and their skin was rougher and hairier than his own, they were still unmistakably
human beings.
 The relationship between these creatures to the hosts is master and servant.

- What is the food do the Yahoos eat?

They consume roots and meat from animals that have died by accident, such as dogs and
cows. For example, Gulliver describes how a piece of donkey meat, which smelled so foul
that he recoiled from it in disgust, was thrown to a Yahoo, who eagerly devoured it. This
shows that the Yahoos eat the flesh of dead animals, including donkey meat.

- How does Gulliver finally find food for him? What are those kinds of food?
 Gulliver noticed a cow passing by and expressed a wish to be allowed to milk it. His
request was granted, and he was taken back into the house where a mare-servant
opened a room stocked with milk in various earthen and wooden containers, all kept
very clean and organized. He was given a large bowl of milk, which he drank eagerly
and found very refreshing.
 For making bread, he used a generous amount of shelled oats, which he ground
between two stones, mixed with water to form a paste, and then baked over a fire.
This simple, tasteless bread was a common food in Europe.
 Sometimes, he managed to catch a rabbit or a bird using snares made from Yahoo
hairs, and he frequently gathered nutritious herbs to boil or eat fresh as salads with his
bread. Occasionally, he made a small amount of butter and drank the whey as a rare
treat.

* In chapter 3 of part IV
- What is the main task the author has to do during the time he lives with the Houyhnhnm
community? How does he get improved?
 His main goal was to learn the language, and his master, the master's children, and all
the servants in the household were eager to teach him. They were amazed that a brute
animal could exhibit such signs of rationality. He pointed to objects and asked for
their names, which he noted in his journal when alone, and he improved his
pronunciation by asking the family members to repeat the words frequently. A sorrel
nag, one of the lower-ranking servants, was particularly helpful in this task.
 To aid his memory, he converted everything he learned into the English alphabet and
wrote down the words along with their translations.

- What does the Houyhnhnm think about him in comparing him with the Yahoo?
The Houyhnhnm was convinced that Gulliver must be a Yahoo, yet he was astonished by
Gulliver's teachability, civility, and cleanliness, which were qualities completely opposite to
those of the Yahoos.

- What of his adventures and of his country and people does the author finally tell his
Houyhnhnm master about?
 He replied that he had traveled across the sea from a distant place with many others of
his kind, in a large hollow vessel made from tree trunks. His companions had forced
him ashore on this coast and then abandoned him to fend for himself.
 When the master servant saw him naked while he was sleeping, he explained to his
master that, in the land he came from, people of his kind always covered their bodies
with animal hairs, prepared by art, both for decency and to protect against the
weather, whether hot or cold. He offered to demonstrate this for his master, asking
only for permission and understanding.

Writing
Find out 3 journal articles which discuss certain themes in Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s
Travels. Then, put them in an order of APA format.

Note: they must be journal articles.

1. Brady, F. (1978). Vexations and Diversions: Three Problems in “Gulliver’s Travels.”

Modern Philology, 75(4), 346–367. http://www.jstor.org/stable/437482

2. Wilding, M. (1973). The Politics of Gulliver’s Travels. In R. F. Brissenden (Ed.),

Studies in the Eighteenth Century II (pp. 303–322). University of Toronto Press.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3138/j.ctt15jvxcq.23

3. Houston, C. (2007). Utopia, Dystopia or Anti-utopia? Gulliver’s Travels and the

Utopian Mode of Discourse. Utopian Studies, 18(3), 425–442.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/20719885

4. Patey, D. L. (1991). Swift’s Satire on “Science” and the Structure of Gulliver’s

Travels. ELH, 58(4), 809–839. https://doi.org/10.2307/2873283

5. Sim, S. (2008). Gulliver’s Travels, Multiculturalism and Cultural Difference. In The

Eighteenth-Century Novel and Contemporary Social Issues: An Introduction (pp. 35–
49). Edinburgh University Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3366/j.ctt1g0b3mt.7