“To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.”- Voltaire
Major Assignments
The Enlightenment - Philosophers and Despots Notes
Changes in Thought and Society – The Enlightenment and Enlightenment Culture Study Guide
Enlightenment Facebook Project
Art Analysis – Rocco and Romantic Art comparison
1763- Jean Jacques Rousseau- The Social Contract APPARTS Essay
“Enlightenment is man's release from his self-incurred tutelage. Tutelage is man's inability to make use of his understanding without direction from another. Self-incurred is this tutelage when its cause lies not in lack of reason but in lack of resolution and courage to use it without direction from another. Sapere aude! 'Have courage to use your own reason!'- that is the motto of enlightenment.” ― Immanuel Kant,
After reading the Enlightenment Section you should understand
The intellectual and social background of the Enlightenment.
The philosophes and their political and intellectual proposals for reform.
The beliefs of the Deists.
The roles of women in the Enlightenment.
The effects of Enlightenment ideals on society
The continued effects of the Agricultural Revolution and Consumer Revolution on 18th century Europe
Enlightened Absolutism and its effects in central and eastern Europe.
Textbook Reading Sections
The Age of Enlightenment and Enlightenment Society - p 239- 264
Primary Readings
Maria Theresa and Joseph II of Austria Debate Toleration p. 260- 261
Outside Primary Readings
Immanuel Kant Defines Enlightenment
Voltaire - Letters Concerning the English Nation
Mary Wollstonecraft criticizes Rousseau’s View of Women
Useful Enlightenment Links
Potential Enlightenment LEQ Questions
Compare the economic, political, and social conditions in Great Britain and in France during the eighteenth century, showing why they favored the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain more so than in France.
In what ways did Enlightenment thinkers build on or make use of the ideas of Newton and Locke?
Evaluate the effectiveness of the various "enlightened absolutist" regimes of the late 1700s.
Analyze the ways in which specific intellectual and scientific developments of the 17th and 18th centuries contributed to the emergence of the religious outlook known as "Deism."
Both Jean-Baptiste Colbert (1619-1683) and Adam Smith (1723-1790) sought to increase the wealth of their respective countries. How did their recommendations differ?
Describe and analyze the influence of the Enlightenment on both elite culture and popular culture in the 18th century.