THE ENLIGHTENMENT
1. READ THE TEXT:
The
Enlightenment
(The
Age of Reason)
was
a
period in European history, in the 18th
century,
when European philosophers began
to examine the world through reason,
or human intellect, rather than religious faith. The main Enlightened
philosophers were Montesquieu,
Voltaire,
Rousseau
and Diderot.
Their ideas touched many aspects of life including politics,
economics, science and religion.
BACKGROUND:
the scientific revolution
The
Enlightened philosophers were inspired by 17th
century thinkers
such as John
Locke,
Francis
Bacon
and Rene
Descartes
that were very important to the scientific
revolution.
The last two thinkers, Bacon and Descartes, did a lot to help develop
the scientific
method.
The scientific method is a way of collecting and testing a hypothesis
(an
idea that hasn’t been proved yet). The hypothesis is tested in an
experiment or by using data. The data is then analysed and you reach
a conclusion. This conclusion either proves the hypothesis is right
or that it is wrong. (You do this every time you do a lab experiment
here at school!).
People
then began to ask themselves this question: ‘If we can understand
the universe better by using the scientific method and reason,
then maybe we can use method and reason to understand other things in
life, too.’ This was what John
Locke
did. He believed that people could learn from their experiences and
become better than they were before. He believed that people could
govern themselves. Locke said that he did not like the idea of an
absolute monarch. He said that ordinary people should have more
power. Locke said that everybody is born free and has three natural
rights:
an innate set of rights and freedoms given by God (nature) that
cannot be taken away or restricted by government.
These three natural rights were the
right to life,
liberty
(freedom) and property
(to own things, like land). Locke said that the government should
protect these rights. If a government did not do this, the people
should overthrow (throw out) this government.
Locke’s
ideas had a big effect on how we think about politics and governments
today. His idea that the people should choose the government is what
we now call democracy.
THE
ENLIGHTENMENT
(The
Age of Reason)
In
the 18th
century, Enlightened philosophers began to use reason to study
government, religion, economics and education. In this way, the
scientific revolution led on to the Enlightenment.
The
Enlightenment was a term invented to be opposed to the Middle Ages
(also known as the “Dark Ages”). Literally, enlightenment means
to illuminate or to bring lightness into darkness. European society
felt that it had emerged from centuries of ignorance, superstition,
darkness, blind obedience, tyranny and faith into a world of reason,
knowledge, truth and freedom.
The
Enlightenment placed a heavy emphasis on science, logic and reason in
order to understand the natural and human world and how to make
government and society more fair, free, equitable and humane.
The
Effects of The Enlightenment
The
Enlightenment philosophers used reason to critizice
some aspects of the Ancien Régime
that they consider unreasonable (not fair): they were against the
absolute power of the kings and the great power of the Church.
Although they were not revolutionaries, their
ideas made ordinary people think and this led on to the American and
French revolutions
at the end of the 18th
century.
The
Enlightened thinking also had three other important
long-term effects.
They were:
- A belief in progress: they thought that the progress was a good thing to solve social problems like slavery, better education and more social equality.
- A more secular (non-religious) way of looking at the world. People began to question their religion and to question what the church told them.
- The importance of the individual. People began to turn away from the church and the kings and to look more towards themselves to make their decisions. The philosophers made people start to use their own reason to decide what is right and what is wrong. They also said that the individual was important in society. They said that governments were made by individuals and that the government should look after them.
2. OUTLINE THE MAIN IDEAS WITH CMAP TOOLS AFTER CONSULTING THE LINKS.
3. LINK YOUR CMAPTOOL TO THE WIKI "TRABAJANDOHISTORIA".
4.WATCH THESE VIDEOS:
The Enlightenment (part I)
The Enlightenment (part II)
5. FILL IN THE GAPS:
THE
ENLIGHTMENT (PART I)
The
Enlightenment also _________
as the age of reason is the name given to an important ________
in the history of western
_______________
that followed the Renaissance.
The
Enlightenment occurred roughly
from the mid _________
hundreds up through
the end of the ___________
hundreds and was a time when the human ability to __________
was glorifyed.
The
word enlightenment means “a time of illumination”. The era was
given this _______
because it was a time when an influential group of scholars,
________,
artists and ____________
actively sought
to use the clear _______
of reason that is rational thought to rid
the world of _____________
and ignorance.
As
a result of their efforts
tremendous improvements in the understanding
of _____________
and science occurred. And bold
new _______
regarding basic _________
______
and democracy were developed that served as major inspirations to
_______________
in North America and _________.
THE
ENLIGHTMENT (PART II)
Other
__________
concentrated on the mind,
_______
subjects and other more abstract concepts as well.
One
of the most important philosophers to focus on
political subjects was an _____________
named John Locke who lived from sixteen thirty two to seventeen four.
Locked
__________
that the power of a _____________
to rule
must come from the consent
of the governed. In other words,
that people should be able to choose who _________
them.
Locke
too confided in England Glorious Revolution of sixteen eighty eight
in which the ______
was forced to relinquish
a large amount
of his ________
to parliamentary _______________.
He
promoted the idea that every _______
_______
was born with three basic _______
_______:
those of life, political equality or liberty, and the ownership
of property.
Lock
also promoted freedom of the press,
educational reform and religious tolerance and called for the
____________
of governments that failed
to protect basic _______
_______.
In
_______
several great ______________
philosophers wrote passionately about human rights and ____________
as well. French philosopher Voltaire for example championed
the idea of freedom of speech
with his _________
statement
“I disapprove of what you ____
but will defend to the death you are _______
to say it”.
While
another ___________
Montesquieu called for (=demanded) a complete separation of powers to
maintain balance
in government which was to be accomplished
by creating ________
legislative, executive and judicial branches of government.
Nearly
all philosophers of the _____________
era wanted to ____
a strict separation of church and state as well for they realized
that mixing __________
and _______
was almost always a recipe for disaster.
The
enlightenment philosophers themselves were usually deists, people
without traditional __________
beliefs who believed in what they called Nature's God that is in an
all-_________
spiritual force that had created the __________
and everything in it but then left it ________.
The
ideas of the enlightnement philosophers were deeply admired by the
_________
of both the _____________
and French _____________.
In
fact Thomas Jefferson fell back
on them ______
and ______
again when he was composing the Declaration of Independence. As did
the framers
of the United States constitution when they worked out
a plan of ____________
for the new American _______________.
6. COMPLETE A TIMELIME ABOUT THE PHILOSOPHERS OF THE ENLIGHTENMENT:
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