The Enlightenment
By 'The Enlightenment' we mean the modern currents of ideas and attitudes, in thought and culture, which appeared in Europe in the late 17th and 18th centuries.
These ideas and attitudes were not harmonious, simple and unified, or totally new, but they share a determination to break from dogmatic religion, feudal social relationships, and political absolutism.
Intellectually, this movement was influenced by the new science associated with Galileo and Newton; culturally, by a turn from religion to an interest in nature, especially human nature; politically, by the development of liberal-democratic ideas; and socio-economically, by the growing importance of the commercial middle class and entrepreneurial capitalism.
These developments are studied in this module, not only as key steps in the making of 'the modern world view', but also as current problems in all areas in the Humanities and the Social Sciences.
There are two compelling reasons why the Enlightenment is the subject of a common module for students in the Faculty of Humanities. The first is that it was such a broad movement, embracing philosophy, literature, art, music, social, cultural, linguistic and political theory, differing conceptions of human nature and our place in the universe, and profound economic, social and political changes. The second reason is that the Enlightenment period left a rich legacy of ideas and problems. Studying the Enlightenment helps us understand our own historical situation today, in Europe and globally.
The module begins by examining some of the factors that led to a crisis in the medieval social system and the Christian world-view, concentrating initially on the work of Descartes who is often seen as the founding author of 'The Enlightenment'. We then consider the efforts, prompted by social, political and intellectual upheaval in England, to secure legitimacy for knowledge and for government.
The Spring Term focuses on crisis and revolution in America and France. By the mid-eighteenth century, provoked in part by wars and natural catastrophe, the Enlightenment had already entered upon a moment of self-scrutiny and crisis which is evident in the work of Rousseau, Voltaire and Diderot. The latter part of the same century witnessed an increasing number of political, social and economic tensions which were to come to a climax in the American and French Revolutions -- though whether the philosophes “led to” Revolution, or whether Revolution retrospectively bestowed coherence upon the programme of the philosophes, is still a matter for debate.
We are so much part of the Enlightenment (some would say we are its constructs), so possessed by its notions of individualism, science, rationalism and private property, that it is difficult to see beyond its horizons. Nevertheless, the Enlightenment was concerned to reach outside itself and see the world differently – this can be seen in the European Enlightenment’s intense fascination with other cultures and societies.
The module ends with the Romantic reaction to the Enlightenment – a reappraisal of the Enlightenment’s claims to reason, method and progress.