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hworthington · 6 years

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As previously mentioned in the first section of my essay, I will be looking with more detail into the period known as The Age of Enlightenment, or Le Siecle des lumieres.

This moment in history particularly appeals to me because of a personal interest and admiration for its key philosophers, both in science and literature.

It was a time of social reform that took power from the church and monarchy through intellectual means. If a person had the vision to create a better life for themselves it was possible with rational thought, a keen mind and the drive to fight for your rights as an equal of any other person.

When I look at this time, the culmination of discoveries, revolutionary thinking and new artistic freedoms it fills me with a sense of wonder and eagerness to explore and understand who were the key characters moving this period of time forward and why it happened then at that point in time.

During the mid 17th , throughout the 18th century scientists such as Sir Isaac Newton helped to broaden Europe's mental horizons with his ground breaking ways of observation and methods of conceiving thoughts. With this inspiring rationality and an accessible new means of analysis (also referred to as Newtonianism), it is no wonder that artists and philosophers such as Voltaire used and admired his methods of thought, and utilized them for their own creation and endeavours ( artistically, philosophically and socially).

I especially enjoy looking at how, though very tightly linked, England and France both had huge influence on each other, but both countries had two very individual and unique ways of reacting to this new way of being.

The enlightened French had a much more challenging time due to a bigoted aristocracy and the acquisitive Catholic church wanting to keep its people unquestioning and submissive; revolutionists had to use their intelligence and cunning to communicate their ideas while not ending up incarcerated or dead. Whereas in England new discoveries and the people who were responsible for shedding light on the unknown were celebrated and held in high admiration partly due to England being already more socially fair and stable.

The English Philosopher John Locke was to be thanked for normalising the idea of rights to education for all, promotion [the belief] that government and monarchy should aid their people and not terrorise them, and that freedom of belief is a person’s birth right and that all religion should be tolerated and respected.

It was this way of enlightenment that inspired other parts of the Europe to aim for a higher foundation of living.

Newton along with most members of 'The Royal Society' said he believed in God and made claim he was a Christian (though looking at some of his writing on the topic of religion it is unclear to weather he was just trying appease the faith ), so the church didn't have any qualms with him. He stated that God created the world and science was just another way of appreciating how wondrously God created everything in his limitless wisdom.

Much unlike the actions of Voltaire, who because of his brazen display of attacking the aristocracy and Catholic Church, lived most of his life in England, in exile.

“Si dieu n'existait pas, il faudrait l'inventer” Voltaire 1768. The Three imposters.

If God did not exist it would have been necessary to invent him.

What I believe Voltaire meant when he said this was that even if god didn't come about when he did, the French government would have had to create something to control its people to keep them in order by ways of fear and find a way of gaining power so that wealth could also be attained and controlled.

My favourite quote from Voltaire regarding his views on the Catholic church is,

“ecrasez L'infame” witch translates to “Crush the loathsome thing”

I feel like this quote does a very good job of summing up the whole time of the enlightenment. If we see ignorance, blind obedience, and inequality of man as the “loathsome”, and the energy and power of moving Europe beyond its ignorance with mind and force as the “crushing” that's exactly what went on in a nutshell.

With science at the forefront of the movement, the invention of the orrery (mechanical structure of the motions of the planets) demonstrated to common people the workings of our solar system.

With the invention of the telescope and the microscope, we could look outwardly and inwardly at much greater depths than ever before at the natural world.

The printing press was now being used more than ever to circulate these new eye opening discoveries and ideas, and people were encouraged to start questioning freely for themselves.

John Locke wrote in 1689 “All mankind being equal and independent … no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions”

This way of thinking hugely influenced Thomas Jefferson. Britain was ever increasing their taxation on the export of goods from America, this was the catalyst for the American civil war, and after the Americans were victorious the Declaration of Independence was written 1776.

“we hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by there creator with a certain unalienable rights: that amongst these are Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”

In 1789 the French revolution took place, the people influenced by seeing what could be done in America. Anger reached boiling point over lack of food due to poor crop years and ever increasing taxation for the common man from the lowest estate .

The wealthy and noble estates of France were exempt from such taxation, while King Louis the XVI and his entourage were spending an incomprehensible amount of money on luxurious lifestyles and financially supporting the American revolution, bringing France to the point of bankruptcy.

This bold reaction was all fuelled by the empowerment of the time of the Enlightenment. People dared to think and act freely, debate opinions without the restraining fear connected with the previous traditions of the church and monarchy.

Reason, science and logic were now ruling Europe, the enlightenment has shaped the world we live in today.

The People were sharing thoughts through publication, theatre and art with a new found freedom and boldness, that has lead on to Art being what it is today.

I will be looking in the next part of my essays in more detail at the art that was produced at the time or art that is obviously linked to this fascinating period of history.

References

“Si dieu n'existait pas, il faudrait l'inventer” Voltaire—Epitre à l’Auteur du Livre des Trois Imposteurs. CXI. See Œuvres Complètes de Voltaire. Vol. I. P. 1076. Ed. Didot, 1827.

“Écrasez l’infâme” Voltaire. 1760. Letter to Jean le Rond d’Alembert. 1760.

“All mankind being equal and independent … no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions” Locke, J. 1689/1690, Ch. II, sec. 6, Two Treatises of Government.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that amongst these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence, July 1776.

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