RISE OF MODERN WEST - II

Name : MEGHNA. M Roll No: 5057

Semester : 4 meggsmanoj@gmail.com
 Question

Highlight the origin and significance of Enlightenment as an intellectual movement

in the European context?

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“ The belief that man had advanced from the ‘barbarous rusticity’ to the
‘politeness of our age’ was characteristic of the Enlightenment ”

The enlightenment has long held a pivotal position in narratives of world history.
It has long functioned as a symbol of modernity, and it continues to do so even
today. They've contributed to the idea that global interactions are primarily fueled
by Europe alone.

Eighteenth century Europe underwent massive transformations in almost every

aspect of life. Despite the fact that these changes did not occur at the same time or
at the same rate in all countries, they formed a separate historical era; one that lay
the groundwork for the modern era. The Enlightenment, or Age of Reason, as it
was subsequently known, marked a radical departure from the past.To define the
penultimate(final) phase of Absolutism, which began around 1740, economist
Wilhelm Roscher coined the term "Enlightened Absolutism." 1

The Enlightenment appears to be a unique and autonomous European product,

profoundly rooted in Western cultural traditions. The Renaissance, humanism, and
the Reformation, according to this master narrative, "gave a new impetus to
intellectual and scientific development that, a little more than 3 ½ centuries later,
flowered in the scientific revolution and subsequently the eighteenth-century
Enlightenment."2
The results included the world of the individual, human rights, rationalisation, and
what Max Weber famously called the “disenchantment of the world.” 3

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1 W. Roscher, Geschichte der National-Okonom'ikn Deutschland, Geschichte der Wissenschaften in
Deutschland, Neuere Zeit, vol. 14 (Munich, 1874) Cited in Enlightenment and Absolutism in the Holy
Roman Empire: Thoughts on Enlightened Absolutism in Germany by Eberhard Weis
2
Toby E. Huff, Intellectual Curiosity and the Scientific Revolution: A Global Perspective (Cambridge,
2010)
3
Max Weber, “Wissenschaft als Beruf,” in Wolfgang J. Mommsen and Wolfgang Schluchter, eds., Max
Weber-Gesamtausgabe, vol. I/17: Wissenschaft als Beruf 1917/1919 / Politik als Beruf 1919 (Tu¨bingen,
1992)

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The Enlightenment men were neither atheists or irreligious, but they were
vehemently opposed to and intolerant of Christian institutions, and they intended to
challenge them by expressing a worldview of man, history, and nature that was
heavily influenced by new scientific discoveries. The Enlightenment used the
scientific method of enquiry to launch a systematic attack on tradition on a broad
scale. The globality of the Enlightenment in the eighteenth century must be
understood on two levels: it was a product of, and a response to, global
conjunctures; and it was the work of numerous authors from all over the world.4

Traditional authority was questioned by Enlightenment thinkers in Britain, France,

and the rest of Europe. They also campaigned for the idea that reason could be
used to transform and enhance humanity. Numerous publications, articles,
inventions, scientific breakthroughs, regulations, and even conflicts were generated
during the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment can easily be traced back to the
1680s England. Isaac Newton's "Principia Mathematica" (1686) and John Locke's
"Essay Concerning Human Understanding" (1688) provided the scientific,
mathematical and philosophical toolkit for the Enlightenment's major advances.

The principles of the Enlightenment influenced both the American and French
revolutions. The American Revolution was the revolt of North American colonies
against the British Empire, which resulted in the formation of the United States.
The merchants of France overthrew the aristocracy, the monarch, and the Church
during the French Revolution. These events marked the zenith of the
Enlightenment's influence and the beginning of its decay. In the 1800s, the
Enlightenment gave way to a new era known as Romanticism.5

The dialogues and publications of French philosophes' ' such as Voltaire, Rousseau,
Montesquieu, Buffon, and Denis Diderot dominated a later stage of the
Enlightenment known as the High Enlightenment. Voltaire's "Philosophical
Dictionary" has been described as "a chaos of clear ideas'' by some historians. The
assumption that everything could be rationally described and catalogued was the
first of these ideas. Diderot's "Encyclopédie '' was the period's signature
4
Eberhard Weis, Enlightenment and Absolutism in the Holy Roman Empire: Thoughts on Enlightened
Absolutism in Germany
5
Sebastian Conrad, Enlightenment in Global History: A Historiographical Critique

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publication. It was one of the first encyclopaedias, bringing together eminent
scholars to compile a comprehensive compilation of human knowledge.

The Enlightenment was also an age of enlightened despots, or rulers who hold
absolute power. One of the most famous was Frederick the Great, who, in between
brutal wars with Austria, unified and modernised Prussia. Prussia was afterwards
annexed by Germany. However, the Enlightenment was also a time of
revolutionaries, such as Thomas Jefferson. Based on concepts from Locke's works,
he structured the American Revolution in his Declaration of Independence (1776).
This was also a period of transformation in terms of religious beliefs. Christians
attempted to justify their beliefs using logic. Secret organisations flourished,
including the Freemasons, the Bavarian Illuminati, and the Rosicrucians. These
groups provided new forms of fellowship and mutual support to European men and
women.

Science was more than a means of inquiry for the Enlightenment. It was associated
with a rationalist mindset. Theorists of the Enlightenment launched a thorough
criticism of the institutions of Christianity, and with it, existing religions and sects,
in order to establish conditions in which persons would be free to explore their
potentialities to the fullest. From Voltaire through Holbach, almost all of them
wrote on the negative effects of religion on individual and communal life.The
Enlightenment thinkers attacked the Church for promoting superstition and
ignorance. Its ideology was based on miracles and mysteries that were
incompatible with reason on the one hand, and it was intolerant of accurate
knowledge on the other. The Church's hostile attitude toward the new ideas that
accompanied the Copernican Revolution only added to this negative impression of
religious institutions and religion.

The Enlightenment had tremendous faith in the power of human beings brought
up rationally from infancy to achieve unlimited progress. They also entrusted the
state with changing the structure of laws and institutions, as well as carrying out
reform activities. Surrounded by a world full of hope for a brighter tomorrow,
Enlightenment thinkers hoped to promote a spirit of tolerance while reducing crime
and torture. Of course, they understood that understanding human nature and

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society would not automatically lead to virtue, but they believed that it could
certainly shed light on ignorance and warn us against power abuse.6

The ideas of the Enlightenment played a major role in inspiring the French
Revolution, which began in 1789 and emphasised the rights of common men as
opposed to the exclusive rights of the elites as such, they laid the foundation for
modern, rational, democratic societies. The movement aimed to apply similar
research and discovery methods to the domains of law, religion, economics, and
politics. Enlightenment thinkers felt that such thinking could lead to societies that
were more egalitarian, just, and less reliant on monarchs and religious leaders'
unchecked authority.Intellectuals such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau and John Locke
introduced the idea that no ruler should have unlimited power. Both argued that
leaders derived their authority not from God but from the people. Tolerance and
acceptance of the “Enlightened Rulers”7 towards their subjects can also be
observed and seen as a direct Impact of the ideas of enlightenment.Enlightenment
attempted to bring religion and custom in line with the principles of human reason.
Churches were nationalised by the enlightened despots and churches now became
subordinated to the state. Laws were also made customary and uniform along with
the humanisation of criminal law and separation of Executive from Judiciary.

All contributed to making Enlightenment a significant intellectual movement

adding to the general progress of European society in terms of Military power,
Centralisation of the state and Expansion of states. Lingering desire to know the
truth,both intellectually and rationally also led to the enlightened movement.

6
Nicholas Hudson, What is the Enlightenment? Investigating the Origins and Ideological Uses of an
Historical Category
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Note : “Enlightened rulers/ despots “ are those rulers who were inspired and influenced by the ideas of
enlightenment

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

1) Lecture Notes : Prof. Ajit.Jha , Unit 5, Enlightenment: Ideas and Impact

2) Conrad,Sebastian.(2012) Enlightenment in Global History: A

Historiographical Critique

3) Hudson,Nicholas. What is the Enlightenment? Investigating the Origins and

Ideological Uses of an Historical Category

4) Weis, Eberhard . Enlightenment and Absolutism in the Holy Roman Empire:

Thoughts on Enlightened Absolutism in Germany