INTRODUCTION OF

THE AGE
OF
ENLIGHTENMENT
RIDDLER’S
MOMENT
⬗ "Three eyes have I, all in a row; when the
red one opens, all freeze."
⬗ "I am weightless, but you can see me. Put
me in a bucket, and I'll make it lighter.
What am I?"
 INQUIRY-BASED
TASK
⬗ SITUATION: You were ⬗ RESEARCH: Which
hired by CNN to write an Enlightenment idea do you
online article connecting think is the most important
for us to follow in the
the Ideas from the society today?
Enlightenment Era to ⬗ PARAMETERS:
the contemporary ⬗ Provide evidences and
world. In order to examples of your claim.
⬗ The article must contain at
create a more conscious
least two photos with short
readers as well as captions.
historically aware. ⬗ Cite sources. MLA
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 WHAT DOES THE LIGHT BULB
REPRESENTS?

4
 Defining the
Enlightenment
  Age of Reason
(18th century Enlightenment)

 Natural laws apply  Rights to Life,

to government as Liberty, and
well as science! Property

 A FAIR society is based

on REASON, not “Divine
Right”
 THE ENLIGHTENMENT OCCURRED
B/W 1650 -1789

 Thinkers believed reason could be used

to uncover the laws that govern human
life
 Once the laws were known people could
make society better
 Believed that reason was a much better
guide than faith or tradition

Reason is the “light” that

reveals human error and
showed the way to truth
⬗ What society worked best?
⬗ Why were laws unjust?
⬗ How did the universe operate?
⬗ Was there a God?
⬗ Were there natural laws that governed
people?
⬗ Who had the power to rule?
⬗ How did the human mind work?
 AGE OF
ENLIGHTENME
NT
⬗ A period of intellectual
exchange in Europe during the
18th century
⬗ Belief in the idea of “progress”
⬗ A desire for political and social
change
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 THINK-WRITE-PAIR-SHARE ACTIVITY
*a period of intellectual growth ⬗ Turn to your partner and
that led to the development
of new ideas on society, discuss:
government, philosophy, ⬗ Identify and evaluate the
economics, and religion. main idea of the motto.
*marks the beginning of the
modern world. ⬗ Does this motto relate to our
*Can be captured in the words of world today?
Immanuel Kant: “Dare to
know! Have the courage to use
your own understanding is ⬗ Why or why not?
therefore the motto of the
Enlightenment.”
Beliefs of the
Enlightenment
 BELIEFS
⬗ Belief in the supremacy of
reason over pleasure;
conviction that humans
could perfect society
through the application
of the intellect to
human affairs
⬗ Science as a discipline
takes its place for the
first time
⬗ The intellectuals of the Enlightenment
(called Philosophes) believed:
⬗ The universe could be understood through
reason
⬗ Everything in nature could be explained by
natural laws—universal truths found
through observation (Religion is not
necessary to understand the world)
 Central Concepts of the
Enlightenment
A. The methods of natural science should be used to
understand all aspects of life - through the use of
REASON

B. Discover the natural laws of human society as well as the

natural world (“social science”)

C. The idea of progress - The confidence in human power,

human reason to improve society
 Central concepts of the
Enlightenment
D. Rejection of superstition and tradition

E. Tolerance and equality

F. Deism - God does not intervene in the world through

miracles; he created the world, and then removed himself
from it
Causes/Origins
of the
Enlightenment
Causes and Effects of the
Enlightenment—America & Europe
⬗ Causes ⬗ Effects
⬗ Religious ⬗ Deism
Fanaticism —”natural
⬗ Witch trials law”
⬗ Beginning of a ⬗ Rise of
merchant class
merchant class—
—aka
aka bourgeoisie bourgeoisie
⬗ Landed ⬗ Science/Logic/Re
Aristocracy ason = Truth
⬗ Monarchies ⬗ Rise of
⬗ philosophers
Causes:
Influence of the
Ancients and
Medieval
Philosophers
Origins of the Enlightenment: Background in
Antiquity

⬗ The application of
Aristotelian logic by
Thomas Aquinas,
Scholasticism, in the 13th
century set the stage for
the Enlightenment.
Origins of the Enlightenment: Ancients
Used Logic to Defend Dogma
⬗ Aristotle’s logical
procedures were used
to defend the dogmas
of Christianity.
⬗ Unfortunately for
the Catholic
Church, the tools of
logic could not be
confined to Church
matters.
Cause:
Renaissance
Origins of the Enlightenment:
Renaissance
⬗ From sciences, ideas of
nature surfaced-
⬗ study not only
gravity or the
circulatory system,
but also human
behavior
⬗ New sciences of psychology
and politics were
developed-
⬗ Social Sciences;
political science,
geography, sociology,
history, civics,
economics, etc…
⬗ Advocates of
Enlightenment claim
governing laws dictate
human nature, society and
politics
 Enlightenment
—Early Forms
⬗ Renaissance Humanists (14th & 15th cent.)
⬗ Argued that proper worship of God involved admiration of
his creation, notably His crown of creations: humanity.
⬗ Celebrating humans worships God better than gloomy
priests who preached original sin and repentance
⬗ Galileo Galilei (1632)
⬗ Used logic and observation to argue that earth rotates
around sun
⬗ The Church (possessor of Truth) forced him to recant,
objecting that Bible clearly stated that the sun moved
through the sky.
⬗ Led to the advancement of science—Isaac Newton
Origins of the Enlightenment: The
Renaissance Humanists
⬗ In the 14th and 15th centuries,
"humanists“ celebrated the
human race and its capacities.
⬗ They argued they were
worshipping God more
appropriately than the priests
and monks who harped on
original sin and asked people to
humble themselves.
Origins of the Enlightenment:
Renaissance Focused on Man’s
Creativity
 Renaissance
Thinker
⬗ Michel de Montaigne (16th Century)
⬗ Asked “What do I know?”
⬗ We have no right to impose other dogmas which rest on
cultural habit rather than absolute Truth
⬗ New World = new cultures
⬗ Morals may be relative
⬗ If we cannot be certain that our values are God-given,
then we have no right to impose them by force on
others
⬗ Popes and kings had no right to enforce adherence to
particular religious or philosophical beliefs
⬗ Doubt is essential to science—test, challenge, ask—to
 Origins of the
Enlightenment: Renaissance
Challenged Church Authority
Cause: Scientific
Revolution
 Origins of the
Enlightenment: The
Scientific Revolution

“If I have seen farther than others,”

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said Newton, “it is because I have
stood on the shoulders of giants.”
Who were the giants to whom Newton
was referring? Could this be said of
any scientific accomplishment?
Explain.
Giants were Copernicus, Kepler, and
Galileo. Yes, scientific discoveries give
scientists a clearer understanding of how
the world works. New discoveries lead to
further questions for investigation and
more discoveries.
⬗ Before the Enlightenment took
hold of Europe, the Renaissance
had occurred. The Renaissance
led to the Scientific Revolution.
All of these time periods are
defined by a sense of inquiry, or
questioning the established
order to find better ways of
doing things.
What was the Renaissance?
 Golden Age of arts and literature in
Western Europe
 Rebirth of classical learning
What was the Scientific Revolution?
 Scientists begin to question traditional
beliefs
 Use of logic and reason, observation
and experimentation

Scientific The
Renaissance Revolution Enlightenment
⬗ During the Scientific Revolution,
people began to believe that the
scientific method allowed them
to find answers to their
questions
 As a result, new ideas began in
areas outside of science:
 Especially criticizing absolute
monarchy & think of new
ideas about government
Scientific Revolution Leads to
Enlightenment
⬗ 1500-1700: European scientists using
reason to discover laws of nature
⬗ Very successful: Planetary movements,
chemistry, vaccine for smallpox, etc.
⬗ Early 1700’s: If people used reason to
find laws that governed the physical
world, why not use reason to discover
natural laws?
⬗ Laws that govern human nature
⬗ Reformers begin studying human nature
and societal problems