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Enlightenment Philosophy (Part I) and Enlightened Absolutism (Part II)

A Graphic Model of Enlightenment Philosophy KEY!- The Enlightenment = the application of the methods developed in the natural sciences (logic and reason) to the social sciences

Fundamental Question Where does sovereignty come from and who should wield it?

God? People- Social Contract Theory

But what is the proper social contract?

Conservative- Hobbes

Absolute Monarchy- people are bad- Interregnum

Moderates (majority!) Montesquieu and Voltaire

Enlightened Absolutism- Perhaps some breaks are needed on Absolute Power

Prevent Tyranny? Checks and Balances. Freedom of Speech.

More Radical- Locke

Constitutional Monarchy/Republic

Natural Rights, Right of Revolution

Out There

Rousseau – Direct Democracy?

Noble Savage. General Will. Education

Key Ideas of the Enlightenment

• No Divine Right – Why not? Not based on

________________

• Social Contract Theory– Humans enter freely into a contract with

each other to form a government in order to create order and protect their rights

• Natural Law – Classical foundations – Gravity- Newton …. _____- philosophes

– Hobbes• People are bad• “If people are good, why do we have locks on our

doors?” • An absolute monarch is needed to save people

from themselves • Key work- Leviathan

I. Conservative Philosophes

– Change will come through Enlightened Absolutism (we’ll come back to this)

– Why maintain absolutist power? • people are dumb – they need a strong ruler

– A democracy would put the power in the hands of this mob (most reject democracy)

• However, that doesn’t mean that a ruler shouldn’t make changes to society

– Freedom of religion? – Outlaw torture? – Fair taxes, etc.?

• Also, the alternative is bloody revolution to remove monarchs… that is no fun!

II. Moderate PhilosophesThe majority of philosophes

In this Enlightened Absolutism, how does society defend against tyranny?

– Montesquieu – checks and balances • Not in favor of full democracy… (nobility,

but not the mob!) checks king• Voltaire … freedom of speech … reason

will eventually triumph if it is unrestrained

– Censorship, particularly in France, results in satire and ‘under the cloak’ bookselling

• Before the French Revolution in France, it was supposedly not hard to buy pornography about the royal family

• Examples of satire– Persian Letters – Culture is relative!

– Galileo- Dialogues on Two Chief Systems of the World

Voltaire’s “Wisdom” (I)

► Every man is guilty of all the Every man is guilty of all the good he good he didn’t do. didn’t do.► God is a comedian playing to an God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh.audience too afraid to laugh.► If God did not exist, it would be If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.necessary to invent him.► It is dangerous to be right It is dangerous to be right when the when the government is wrong. government is wrong.► Love truth and pardon error.Love truth and pardon error.

Voltaire’s “Wisdom” (II)

► Judge of a man by his questions Judge of a man by his questions rather than by his answers.rather than by his answers.► Men are equal; it is not birth, but Men are equal; it is not birth, but virtuevirtue that makes the difference. that makes the difference.► Prejudice is opinion without Prejudice is opinion without judgment.judgment.► The way to become boring is to say The way to become boring is to say

everything. everything.► I may not agree with what you I may not agree with what you have to say, but I will defend to the have to say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.death your right to say it.

More Voltaire

• Candide– Pokes fun at irrationality– Spanish earthquake anecdote

• Auto da fe

III. Some philosophes were bit more extreme

– Thus, democracy (Republic or Constitutional monarchy)

– John Locke • People are basically

good and will learn from and correct mistakes

• Natural Rights – Inalienable rights

conferred on all humans at birth

• Universal public Education (why?)

• Right of Rebellion

More Locke

– John Locke- ‘Tabula Rasa’ • Babies are a ‘blank slate’. Their culture is not

congenital, but learned. – If I had been moved to Saudi Arabia when I was a month old,

what religion would I be now?

IV. Others Were Very Extreme • Rousseau

– Hippie– Favorite of Revolutionaries

• Society is the source of all problems- noble savage idea – Ultimate personal freedom is needed – Reason can be misleading… emotion, spontaneity – Education must be guided by those to be educated

• General Will should guide the government – Will of the people, but the majority doesn’t always

know what this is– Sometimes leaders need to guide the people – Close to direct democracy– Get rid of existing system completely

• Some have blamed him for Hitler/Mussolini…• How/why?

Enlightened Absolutism (Part II)

Unrepentant • Louis XV (France)

– Weakened by the rise of Parlement during his regency

• Courts of nobles/bourgeois • Had the power of remonstration

– At first Louis XV was weak against this group

• He had to back off attempted tax increases– Finally, Louis XV, who is pleasure

loving, hands off power to Maupeou, who crushes the Parlements

• Louis XVI – Wants to be loved– Backs off Maupeou’s harsh stances

towards Parlements, bourgeois, and nobles

Somewhat Enlightened (Some Change) • Reasoned reform, but guided by monarchs

– More rational bureaucracy, tax collection, courts, laws, punishments for crimes, etc.

– Religious toleration of all Christians – Often done (cynically) to maintain power in

European political climate

• Examples… Frederick the Great, Catherine the Great, Maria Theresa

Frederick the Great

• Frederick the Great- Basics– Interesting childhood v adulthood – “I am the Servant of the State”

• Should remind you of…?

– Prussia becomes a dominant European power after eating up Silesia and parts of Poland

• Frederick the Great- Enlightened aspects– freedom of the press (personal friends with Voltaire),

religious toleration, honest bureaucracy– Limitations? serfdom remains… no

Catherine the Great• Basics

– Complicated coup d’etat – Great success in completing Peter the

Great’s foreign policy• Gobbled up a big chunk of Poland • Got land on the Black Sea by fighting

Ottoman Turks

• Enlightened Policies• Cultural westernization as opposed to

Peter the Great’s military westernization• Encyclopedia, humane treatment of

criminals, some freedom of press and religion, new law codes (rational)

– Backs off of Enlightenment in the face of a peasant (cossack-led) rebellion

• ‘my true allies are the nobles’• No end to serfdom

Maria Theresa • Maria Theresa

(Austria) – Modernizes mainly

to become strong enough to resist Prussia

– Rational gov’t is more efficient

– Attacked papal influence despite her own devout faith

Silesia

- - 17721772

- - 17931793

- - 17951795

Russian Expansionism in the Late 18c

Very (too?) Radical

• Additional Reforms – Religious toleration even of non-Christians– Freed serfs– Taxation of nobles – Attacks and humbles the Catholic Church

• Joseph II– His people (ironically?) hated these reforms– Too much too fast

• His successor (Leopold II) had to undo all of these reforms

Joseph II of Austria (r. 1765-1790)

► 1741 -– 1741 -– 1790.1790.

► His mother His mother waswas Maria Maria Theresa.Theresa.

HansenAP Euro

Lecture Outline – Part I. Enlightenment Philosophy and Enlightened Absolutists

• Key Ideas of the Enlightenment– No _______________________

• Why not? Not based on ________________

• Social Contract Theory– Humans enter freely into a ___________________________ to

form a government in order to _________ and protect their rights

• Natural Law – Classical foundations – Gravity- Newton …. _____- philosophes

• I. Conservative Philosophe– Hobbes

• People are _______• “If people are good, why do we have

_______________?” • An absolute monarch is needed to _________________

_____________________________• Key work- _____________________

• II. Moderate Philosoph– _______ Enlightenment Philosoph were moderates– Change will come through ________________________ (we’ll

come back to this) – Why maintain absolutist power?

• people are _______– they need ___________________– A democracy would put the power in the hands

______________ (most reject _____________)• However, that doesn’t mean that a ruler shouldn’t make

changes to society – Freedom of ___________? – __________________? – Fair taxes, etc.?

• Also, the alternative is ______________________ to remove monarchs… that ________________!

– In this Enlightened Absolutism, how does society ___________ tyranny?

– Montesquieu – ______________________________________• Not in favor of full democracy… (_________, but not the

____________!) checks king– Voltaire … freedom of speech … reason will eventually triumph if

_____________________________________– Censorship, particularly in France, resulted in satire and ‘______

_______________________________’ bookselling • Before the French Revolution in France, it was

supposedly not hard to ______________ about the royal family

• Examples of satire– Persian Letters – ____________________! – Galileo- Dialogues on Two Chief Systems of the

World – More Voltaire

• Candide– Pokes fun at ____________________

• Spanish earthquake anecdote - _________________ __________________________________________

– Auto da fe

• III. Some Philosophes were a bit more extreme – Thus, _____________ (Republic or Constitutional monarchy)– John Locke

• People are basically _____________and will learn from and ______________________________

• Natural Rights – ___________________ conferred on all humans

at birth • Universal public Education (why?- _____________

___________________________________) • Right of _______________• ‘Tabula Rasa’

– Babies are a __________________’. Their culture is not congenital, but learned.

» If I had been moved to Saudi Arabia when I was _________________, what _____________would I be now?

• IV. Others Were Very Extreme• Rousseau

– _________________– Favorite of (French) Revolutionaries

• Society is the source of all problems- _________________ idea – Ultimate personal freedom is needed – Reason can be misleading… __________, _________________ – Education must be guided by ____________________________

• General Will should guide the government – Will of the people, but the majority doesn’t always ____________

______________________________– Sometimes leaders need to _____________the people – Close to _________________________________– Get rid of existing system ______________________

• Some have blamed him for _________________________________…• How/why? - _______________________________

__________________________________________

Part II. Enlightened Absolutism

Unrepentant

The Rise of the Parlement and Louis XV

Maupeou

Louis XVI

Willing to allow Some Change

Reforms

Frederick the Great

(Willing to Allow Some Change- continued)

Catherine the Great

Maria Theresa

Open to Extreme Change

Additional Reforms

Joseph II

Leopold II