The Enlightenment and Era Of Romanticism

Terms to Know:

Enlightenment: intellect and reason (lawlike systems devised by scientists/experts) more focus than emotions (the unruly passions)

inductive reasoning: observation, measurement, experiment, hypothesis and verification (The Scientific Method)

deductive reasoning: mathematical approach that uses simple, self-evident truths and advanced to more complex truths

secularism : a non-religious view of society, no religious involvement in government

liberalism: stresses the limited state interference in individual life and representation of people in government, and urges the importance of constitutional rule and parliaments

cosmopolitanism : an urban view of life, beginning in the parlors of France

natural rights: (John Locke) "life, liberty and property", which the government is responsible for protecting.

skepticism: creating doubt or disbelief (seen mainly in the church during the Enlightenment)

utilitarianism: total government control of people's lives; similar to dictatorship

individualism: expression of one's self which in the Romantic period became almost heroic

General Will: the belief that all people are communal creatures; others had to submit for the good of people as a unit

Nationalism: a strong feeling of loyality to ones country

Romanticism : Emphasis on the spiritual or passionate (as opposed to the intellectual) in literature, art, and music. In music used particularly to describe music written from c. 1830 to the end of the century: expressive, sometimes exotic, sometimes grotesque or dealing in the supernatural, nearly always embodying great emotional fervor.

thematic transformation : The transformation of a theme as it is reused such that gradually its character becomes radically different.(expressed in both Literature and Music)

Scientific Pantheism: the universe is the only real divinity; nature is a sacred temple. It fuses religion with science and the concern for humanity with the concern for the Earth. It has been called "a religion that requires no faith and no revelation" because it can be experienced with an open mind and open eyes to true evidence.

self-reliance: nonconformity and divine individualism from the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson

People To Know:

Nicolaus Copernicus:(1473-1543):doctorate in canon law; native of Poland; studied in Bologna and Padua,Italy.

• Famous manuscript: On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres:new emergence of theory of helicentrism

Pierre Bayle:(1647-1706):Protestant; leading critic of traditional religious ideals; attacked superstition, religious intolerance, and dogmatism; idea of skepticism

• Most famous work: Historical and Critical Dictionary
  -religion and morality were not necessarily related
  -compelling people to believe a certain set of religious ideals was wrong
  -king is portrayed as cruel, evil and treacherous

Issac Newton:(1642-1727);attended Cambridge University; invented Calculus;universal law of gravitation(could explain the motion of all planets)

• Famous Work: Principia (1687)
  -hinge point of modern scientific thought
  -culmination of mathematic proofs of the theories of Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo

Denis Diderot(1713-1784);studied at University of Paris; favorite topic:Christianity;

• Famous Work: Encyclopedia (sometimes known as Classified Dictionary of Sciences,Arts and Trades)-called the "great work of his life"
  -suppressed at times for "tending to destroy royal autority, to establish the spirit of independence and revolt...and to raise the foundations of error, moral corruption, and irreligion."

Charles de Secondat, the baron de Montesquieu(1689-1755);criticized Cathlic Church and French royality; advocacy of religious toleration, the denunciation of slavery; use of reason to liberate humanity of its prejudices

• Famous Work: The Spirit of the Laws; relativist in an age of absolute thinkers;distinguished the 3 types of government(republics, monarchy, and despotism)

François-Marie Arouet (Volitaire)(1694-1778)well recieved in literary and social circles; Philosophic Letters on the English-showed his admiration for English life (for respect of all people); known for criticism of traditional religion and strong attachment to the ideals of religious toleration

• Famous Work:Candide; campaigned for individual rights
  ""I do not agree with a word you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it!"