humanity

junyuguo1

humch17.ppt

Home >History homework help >humanity

The Age of Reason
1700–1789

17-*

The Enlightenment

The years from 1700-1789 constitute the Age of Reason, when the best minds passionately believed in the power of knowledge to improve both the individual and society.
We call the cultural movement spawned by these progressive thinkers “The Enlightenment.”
The period also saw the continued growing power of centralized states and a resurgence of the aristocracy (which had been on the decline during the last century).
Most importantly, the age saw the rise of the middle class to political and cultural visibility. The middle class, in turn, supported those thinkers who advocated social equality, social justice, and the revamping of society; all key ideals of the Enlightenment.

17-*

The Enlightenment

The Age of Reason thinkers derived their ideals and goals from varied sources. They followed the examples of ancient Greece and Rome, they rejected superstition, sought truth through the use of reason, and viewed the world from a secular, human-centered perspective.
Drawing on the Renaissance, they embraced humanism and believed that one becomes a better human being through the study and practice of literature, philosophy, music, and the arts.
Through the 17th century revolutions in science and philosophy, particularly Newton, Bacon, Descartes, and Locke, they derived a reliance on rationalism, empiricism, skepticism, and education.
Initially, this only changed the worldview of a small number of highly educated people, but it eventually spread to the middle class and had an impact on the revolutionary events that occurred later in the century.

17-*

The Enlightenment

The leaders of the Enlightenment were known as the “Philosophes.” Not philosophers in the formal sense, they sought to popularize their knowledge to influence public opinion and reach large audiences through novels, plays, essays, pamphlets, poems, and histories.
They openly attacked social evils and supported rulers who favored change (the “enlightened despots”). When threatened with censorship (or worse) they disguised their radical method or published from the Netherlands (the most liberal state in Europe at the time).
The Enlightenment was largely a product of French cultural life and France’s leading philosophes included Voltaire, Baron de Montesquieu, Diderot, and the French-speaking Swiss writer Jean Jacques Rousseau. They were joined by great thinkers like England’s Edward Gibbon, America’s Benjamin Franklin, and the Scottish economist Adam Smith and philosopher David Hume.

Voltaire (1694-1778)

Voltaire was a great French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. He was famous for his wit, his attacks on the established Catholic Church, and his advocacy of freedom of religion, expression, and the separation of church and state.
As a satirical polemicist, he frequently made use of his works to criticize intolerance, religious dogma, and the French institutions of his day and wrote over 2,200 books and pamphlets.
He is credited for having said "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”
Actually the quote is by Evelyn Beatrice Hall, an early 20th century biographer of Voltaire.

7-*

Baron de Montesquieu
(1689-1755)

Montesquieu was a French lawyer, man of letters, and political philosopher. He is most famous for his articulation of the theory of separation of powers in government.
He wrote about this in his epic work “The Spirit of Laws” (1748) and his theory of separation of powers has been implemented in many governments throughout the world.
James Madison relied upon the work of Montesquieu in drafting the U.S. Constitution.

7-*

Diderot
(1713-1784)

French philosopher, art critic and writer. He was a prominent figure during the Enlightenment and is best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor and contributor to the “Encyclopédie.”
The Encyclopédie was an innovative encyclopedia in several respects. Among other things, it was the first encyclopedia to include contributions from many named contributors.
According to Diderot, the Encyclopédie's aim was "to change the way people think"

7-*

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
(1712-1778)

Rousseau was a Swiss philosopher, writer, and composer of the 18th century. His political philosophy influenced the French Revolution as well as the overall development of modern political, sociological, and educational thought.
Rousseau’s “The Social Contract” (1762), arguably Rousseau's most important work, outlines the basis for a legitimate political order within a framework of classical republicanism.
Rousseau was the most popular of the philosophes in the era of the French Revolution.

7-*

Benjamin Franklin
(1706-1790)

Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat. As a scientist, he was a major figure in the American Enlightenment.
He was one of the most influential and important founding fathers of the United States.
As an inventor, he is known for the lightning rod, bifocals, and the Franklin Stove, among many other inventions.

7-*

17-*

The Enlightenment

The philosophes thought that political, economic, and religious institutions should be reformed to bring “the greatest happiness for the greatest numbers.”
They envisioned a rejuvenated society that guaranteed natural rights to all citizens and anticipated a general overhaul of society that would lead to universal peace and a golden age for humanity.
Unfortunately most of the philosophes limited their thinking to men and still viewed women as inferiors in need of male protection. It was not until the 1790’s, during the French Revolution that voices were raised on behalf of women.
Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-97) wrote her “Vindication of the Rights of Women” in 1792. She argued that women were as rational as men and deserved equal treatment in society.

17-*

The Enlightenment: Religion

Deism combines a rejection of religious knowledge as a source of authority with the belief that reason and observation of the natural world are sufficient to determine the existence of a single creator of the universe.
Deism gained prominence among intellectuals during the Enlightenment– especially in Britain, France, Germany and the United States – who, raised as Christian,, believed in one god but became disenchanted with organized religion and notions such as the Trinity, the Bible as fact, and the supernatural interpretation of events such as miracles.
Deists believed that God created the universe under natural laws and having done that, did not intervene in the day to day lives of people (except to inspire).
Deism was followed by many of the intellectuals, including the founding fathers of the United States and shows the shift in religious attitudes and the secularization of European consciousness in the 1700’s.

17-*

The Enlightenment: Religion

Popular Religion-Pietism began in Germany among the Lutherans in the 1760’s. Pietism believed that the church’s mission should be to help resolve pressing social and economic issues, such as poverty and social inequality rather than accepting the status quo.

It also urged personal faith based on strict adherence to the Scriptures rather than ritual and liturgy. It deeply affected John Wesley (1703-91) who was the founder of the Methodist Church

Methodism and German Pietism became the catalyst for the First Great Awakening, a wave of revivalism that swept through the American colonies in the early and mid-1700’s. It reached out to the poor, women, free blacks, and even slaves.

The religious intensity of the Great Awakening also led to the founding of The College of New Jersey (Princeton), College of Rhode Island (Brown), Queen’s College (Rutgers) which joined Harvard and Yale as American colleges

17-*

The Enlightenment

The message of the philosophes was communicated by various means: pamphlets, essays, books, debates, and private and public discussions. But the principle work of the philosophes was The Encyclopédie which was begun in 1750 and completed in 1772.
The Encyclopédie, edited by Diderot, was a project of 17 text volumes and 11 books by more than 161 authors that was intended as a summary of exiting knowledge in the arts, crafts, and sciences.
Diderot was constantly in trouble with the authorities, because of the works controversial essays and in 1759 publication was halted by state censors (but resumed secretly).
The Physiocrats joined the philosophes as members of the Enlightenment who were concerned with economic matters. The Scottish economist, Adam Smith (1723-90), was the leading figure of the Physiocrats.

7-*

The Title Page of the
Encyclopédie
Published from
1751–72

17-*

The Age of Reason

17-*

The Great Powers During the Age of Reason

In comparison to the turbulent 1600’s, Europe between 1715 and 1789 enjoyed relative peace and prosperity. There were a number of wars (e.g. War of the Austrian Succession from 1744-48, the Seven Year’s War from 1754-63, The American Revolution 1775-83) but generally wars between sovereign states were few.
Economic growth was slow but steady, and prosperity fueled the growth of the middle classes, especially in Great Britain and Holland (although the middle class made only modest gains in France and even less in central and eastern Europe.
Society: Continuity and Change- The modest economic growth saw an increasing urbanization of society, although most Europeans still lived on farms.
The aristocracy constituted about 3% of the population but possessed tremendous wealth and power. The upper middle class, businessmen, merchants bankers, professionals gained more power. The broad middle class of less wealthy merchants, artisans, bureaucrats and well-to-do farmers increased.
However the lower middle class, the rural and urban laborers, tenant farmers, and peasants, bore the brunt of taxation and the contempt of the higher classes. Additionally, two social groups, women and in the colonies, African slaves, gained little from the Enlightenment.

17-*

Europe, 1763–1789

17-*

Absolutism, Limited Monarchy, and Enlightened Despotism

The 1700’s were the last great age of kings in the West. The royal rulers, supported by inefficient bureaucracies and costly armies, controlled the masses by heavy taxes and threats of brutality.

France: The Successors to the Sun King-No French ruler was able to capture the splendor of Louis XIV. His successor, Louis XV lacked the strong will to rule and his court could not be sustained in the grand manner of the “Sun King.”

Nobles began leaving Versailles and while France was the home of the Enlightenment, the royal government failed to embrace its progressive reforms in governing.

The weak Louis XV was challenged internationally by Britain, Prussia, and Austria. During the “Seven Years War” (1756-63) France lost most of its holdings in North America and India.

France supported America in the Revolution, but this was financially disastrous and forced France deeper in debt. This was worsened by a corrupt tax system and a resurgent aristocracy that joined forces with a discontented middle class.

Aubry, “Paternal Love” (1775)
This painting symbolizes rural bourgeois life in France

17-*

Louis XV of France (r.1714-74)

George I of Britain (r. 1714-27)

17-*

Absolutism, Limited Monarchy, and Enlightened Despotism

Great Britain and the Hanoverian Kings-to the philosophes, Britain, with its monarchy limited by Parliament and laws guaranteeing every Englishman certain political rights, like free speech, and fair and speedy trials, seemed the ideal model of a nation.

Britain also had a strong economy, was dominant internationally with strong colonial holdings, had enterprising merchants, strong progressive landowners, and a rising standard of living among much of its population.

After the death of Queen Anne in 1714 the crown passed to George I, the ruler of the German principality of Hanover and the great-grandson of James I.

George I (r. 1717-27) allowed Parliament to run the nation as did his successor George II (r. 1727-60). Britain was successful in the Seven Year’s War and became the dominant presence in world trade.

George III (r. 1760-1820) tried a more “hands-on” approach and to restore some of the royal power lost to Parliament. This resulted in internal struggle and turmoil.

17-*

Absolutism, Limited Monarchy, and Enlightened Despotism

Enlightened Despotism in Central and Eastern Europe – During the Age of Reason, Prussia, Austrian, and Russian jockeyed for control of central and eastern Europe.

By 1740, Prussia, ruled by the Hohenzollern dynasty had a solid economic base and an efficient army. Frederick II (known as Frederick the Great) turned Prussia into a leading European power.

Frederick was an “enlightened despot.” He was a pragmatic diplomat, skilled military tactician, and student of the Enlightenment. He even attempted (though failed) to reform his state’s agrarian economy and social system in accordance with the rational principle that all individuals have the natural right to chose for themselves the best way to live.

17-*

Frederick the Great
of Prussia
(r. 1740-86)

17-*

Absolutism, Limited Monarchy, and Enlightened Despotism

Enlightened Despotism in Central and Eastern Europe – Prussia’s chief rival in central Europe was Austria, ruled by the Hapsburgs. They attempted to rule over a multi-ethnic population of Germans, Hungarians, Czechs, Poles, and Slavic minorities.

Two Hapsburg rulers stand out , Maria Theresa and her son Joseph, whose combined reigns lasted from 1740-1790.

Maria Theresa was not particularly attracted to the ideas of the philosophes, but her strong Roman Catholic faith led her to seek reform. She overhauled the political and military machinery of the state and a wanted a general reform of society that gave uniform treatment to all citizens.

Joseph II became the personification of the enlightened despot, launching far-reaching changes that included abolishing serfdom and granting religious freedom to his subjects. Unfortunately, much of this was undone by his successors who feared the excesses brought about by the French Revolution.

Maria Theresa of Austria

(r. 1740-80)

Joseph II of Austria

(r. 1780-90)

17-*

Absolutism, Limited Monarchy, and Enlightened Despotism

Enlightened Despotism in Central and Eastern Europe – Russia was the newest member of the family of great powers in Europe, having achieved that stature under the reign of Peter the Great (r. 1682-1725) who reformed Russia under Western military lines.

After a number of incompetent successors, Catherine II (called Catherine the Great), became empress. A patron of the Enlightenment, she pursued the unifying principles of Peter and was able to gain the support of the great landowners.

She increased farm productivity and improved the nearly enslaved conditions of the peasants, but the vastness of Russia’s problems and the reactionary autocratic government defeated any lasting or genuine reform.

Peter the Great of Russia

(r. 1682-1725)

Catherine II The Great of Russia (r. 1762-96)

17-*

Cultural Trends in the Eighteenth Century: From Rococo to Neoclassical

The Enlightenment dominated cultural life in this century, but two artistic styles, the Rococo Style and later, the Neoclassical Style held sway.
Additionally, there was a somewhat short fascination for all things Chinese (“Chinoiserie”) thrown in for a while between 1740 and 1770).
The Rococo style arose in France during the late part of the Sun King’s reign. The Rococo style spread to most of Europe, although it was largely rejected in England, possibly because its erotic undercurrent and sexual themes offended their Protestant middle-class sensibilities.
Rococo artists and architects used a more jocular, florid, and graceful approach to the Baroque. Their style was ornate and used light colors, asymmetrical designs, curves, and gold. Unlike the Baroque, the Rococo had more playful and witty themes

Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721) was the first great Rococo painters.

Watteau’s painting convey a dreamy eroticism and often focus on erotic, romantic or sentimental love.

He specialized in paintings that depict “fête galante” a type of aristocratic entertainment.

(see next slide)

Jean-Antoine Watteau, “Quellnymphe” (1707)

7-*

Antoine Watteau, Pilgrimage to Cythera , 1718–1721
This is an example of the “fête galante” style invented by the artist

7-*

Jean-Antoine Watteau, Judgment of Paris (1720)

Watteau used soft pastels to evoke nostalgia and melancholy.
The monumentality of the baroque period is brought down to a human scale in rococo art making it more suited to interiors

Jean-Antoine Watteau,
Jupiter and Antiope (1715)

7-*

Francois Boucher, The Toilet of Venus, 1751

7-*

Francois Boucher,

(1703-70)

is known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories, and pastoral scenes. He was perhaps the most celebrated decorative artist of the 18th century.

7-*

Francois Boucher,
Portrait of Marie-Louis O’Murphy (Nude on a Sofa) (1752)

Boucher’s voluptuous nudes were made more titillating by their

realistic portrayal without classical trappings

Francois Boucher,

“Venus and Amor”

(1751)

His paintings are characterized by unabashed sexuality

7-*

Francois Boucher, “Diana Leaving the Bath” (1742)

7-*

Francois Boucher,

“Rinaldo and Armida”

(1734)

Sexuality pervades the paintings of Boucher

7-*

Francois Boucher,

“Dreaming Shepherdess”

(1751)

Even his non-sexual paintings are have a undercurrent of sensuality

7-*

Jean-Honre Fragonard, “The Pursuit”
(1735-40)
Fragonard (1732-1806) was a French painter whose late Rococo manner was distinguished by remarkable facility, exuberance, and hedonism.

Jean-Honre Fragonard, “The Swing”
(1767)

This painting again shows the “fête galante” style that was very popular during the rococo period

7-*

Jean-Honre Fragonard, “The Bathers” (1765)

7-*

Jean-Honre Fragonard, “Blind Man’s Bluff”
(1760)

Another “fête galante” painting showing the aristocracy at play

7-*

Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Lebrun, Marie Antoninete and Her Children (1787)
Lebrun was a talented and popular female artist painted portraits in the rococo style

7-*

Lebrun painted a number of portraits of Marie Antoinette

7-*

Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Lebrun,
“Self-portrait in a Straw Hat,”
(1782)

Sir Joshua Reynolds, “Mrs. Siddons as the Tragic Muse,” 1784
Siddons was the most famous actress of tragic drama in England at the time.

Reynolds was a rococo portrait painter in England

7-*

Boffrand, Salon de la Princesse,
Hôtel de Soubise
(1735-50)

Graceful undulations and blurring the lines between the walls and ceilings was a typical rococo design element

17-*

Balthasar Neumann, Kaiseraal, the Residenz (Palace at Würzburg, Germany
(1719-44)

The interiors show the rococo designs in interior decoration, including “rocaille”: fanciful stucco ornaments in the shape of ribbons, leaves, stems, interlaces and elongated curving lines.

17-*

Balthasar Neumann, Kaiseraal, the Residenz (Palace at Würzburg, Germany (1719-44)

17-*

William Hogarth, “The Countess's Morning Levee” (1743-45)

17-*

British Response

Rococo was

condemned in

Great Britain as

tasteless and

corrupt. Their

response was to

Paint as social

Satire of the

Idle rich.

Hogarth would

make multiple

copies of his

popular work for

resale. The first

major artist to do

so.

William Hogarth, “The Marriage Contract” (1743)

17-*

William Hogarth, “The Tête à Tête” (1743)

17-*

William Hogarth, “The Suicide of the Countess” (1743)

17-*

William Hogarth, “Before” and “After”(1730)

From Rococo to Neoclassical

Soon after 1750, the rococo took a backseat to a new style known as neoclassical. The excavation of the ruins of Pompeii and the publishing of books on Greek and Roman art fueled this trend, which rejected the rococo in favor of classical themes.
Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825) emerged as the finest example of this return to classical themes, balance, and symmetry. While many of the neoclassical works focused on events from the ancient world, they also painted portraits and modern subjects in the classical style.
As demand for art grew, prints became popular among the middle class. The “mezzotint” (halftone) and later the “aquatint” allowed for the prints of artwork to be made for middle class consumption.

17-*

Jacques-Louis David, “Oath of the Horatii”(1784)

17-*

Jacques-Louis David, “The Death of Socrates” (1787)

17-*

Jacques-Louis David, “Paris and Helen”(1788) and “Andromache Mourning Hector” (1783)

17-*

Jacques-Louis David, “Portrait of Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier and his Wife” (1788) and “Portrait of Madame de Verninac” (1798–1799)

17-*

Jacques-Louis David
“Portrait of a Young Woman in White”
(ca. 1798)

7-*

Johann Ferdinand Hetzendorf, The Temple of Fame (1778)

7-*

This example of Neoclassical architecture mixes baroque style

with classical features. Hetzendorf was the court architect to the

Austrian Empress Maria Theresa.

Soufflot, The Pantheon, Paris (1759-92)
is an example of neoclassical architecture

17-*

Robert Adam, Kenwood House, London (1764)

17-*

William Chambers, “The Pagoda”,
London (1761)

17-*

Inspired by Western travelers’ accounts and imported wares, artists drew freely on (historically incorrect) Chinese design.
This was called the “Chinoiserie” fad and lasted from about 1740 till 1770.

Philosophy

As mentioned earlier the Age of Reason was a seminal period in the history of Western thought.
Voltaire, convinced that people lacked political wisdom, advocated for enlightened despotism. However, most of the philosophes rejected absolutism.
Baron de Montesquieu believed that an enlightened aristocracy would ensure justice and tranquility, while Jean-Jacques Rousseau advocated a kind of pure democracy.
Rousseau in his great work “The Social Contract” (1762) built and expanded on John Locke’s theories. He agreed that in a “state of nature” people had maximum freedom but no moral purpose and the “general will,” Rousseau’s term for what was best for the entire community, helped to make us moral beings.

17-*

Philosophy

David Hume (1711-76) was a Scottish philosopher and historian. Hume strove to create a total naturalistic “science of man” that examined the psychological basis of human nature.
In opposition to the rationalists who preceded him, most notably Descartes, he concluded that desire rather than reason governed human behaviour.
He also argued against the existence of innate ideas, concluding, Like Locke, that humans have knowledge only of things they directly experience.
Hume first laid out his philosophy in “A Treatise on Human Nature” (1739-40). He held notoriously ambiguous views of Christianity eventually concluding that God was “an empty hypothesis.”

17-*

David Hume considered one of the most important figures in Western Philosophy

17-*

Literature

Western literature in the Age of Reason was dominated by French authors and the French language replaced Latin as the international language of scholarship, diplomacy, and commerce.
Writers tended to write for the growing middle class. Voltaire’s “Candide” (1759) was the most popular novel of the Age of Reason.
It is a satirical novel about a It begins with a young man, Candide, who is living a sheltered life in Eden-like paradise and after being indoctrinated with "optimism” by his mentor, Professor Pangloss.
The work describes the abrupt cessation of this lifestyle, followed by Candide's slow, painful disillusionment as he witnesses and experiences great hardships in the world. Voltaire concludes with Candide, if not rejecting optimism outright, advocating a deeply practical precept, "we must cultivate our garden.”

17-*

Frontispiece and Early Illustration from “Candide”

17-*

Neoclassicism in English Literature

In England, the growing presence of the Protestant middle class created a demand for literature that was conservative and basically moralistic in tone. The poetry of Alexander Pope and the monumental historical work of Edward Gibbon are typical of this style of literature.
Alexander Pope (1688-1744) was an 18th-century English poet, best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, as well as his original work.
Edward Gibbon (1737-94) was an English historian and Member of Parliament. His most important work, “The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, was published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788. The Decline and Fall is known for the quality and irony of its prose, its use of primary sources, and its open criticism of organized religion.

17-*

Alexander Pope and Edward Gibbon

17-*

The Rise of the Novel

The most important literary development during the Age of Reason in England was the rise of the modern novel. The hallmark of the early English novel was its realism.
These novels looked at life with fresh eyes and developed the fictional characters whose stories they told.
Samuel Richardson (1689-1761) focused on love between the sexes in his “Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded” (1740) and “Clarissa Harlowe” (1747-8). These books tell the contrasting stories of two women whose virtue is tested by repeated seduction attempts.
The novels of Henry Fielding (1707-54) depict a robust world of comedy and adventure. “The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling” (1749) is a comic masterpiece that follows Tom, a high-spirited young man who makes little effort to resist the temptations that come his way, but is good-hearted and honest.
These works typified the growing class of entertainment literature.

17-*

From Rococo to Neoclassical

Rococo music represented a reaction against the baroque. Composers strived for a light and charming sound with graceful melodies over simple harmonies.
The perfect instrument for rococo music was the harpsichord, a keyboard instrument with a delicate, refined sound.
The neoclassical period actually produced a great deal of the best of what we now would call “classical” music.
The neoclassical period would bring the world such giants of music as Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-91).

17-*

Joseph Haydn

Haydn was a prominent and prolific composer of the Classical period.

He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the piano trio and his contributions to musical form have earned him the epithets "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet”

17-*

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, operatic, and choral music. He is among the most enduringly popular of classical composers, and his influence on subsequent Western art music is profound;

17-*

The Legacy of the Age of Reason

During the Age of Reason the philosophical basis for absolutism began to crumble, laying the stage for future revolution and the rise of democracies.
We see the growing emergence of the middle class as powerful force for change, as well as the rise of popular culture
Enlightenment ideas, such as equality, human nature as good, and the belief that happiness is proper goal of human life, take hold and last until the modern day.
We see a later adoption of neoclassical style and ideas which are combined with the new ideas of the Age of Reason.

17-*