The Enlightenment: A Transformative 18th-Century Movement
The Enlightenment: A Cultural Revolution
Definition
The Enlightenment was a cultural movement that originated in England and developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. It advocated the application of reason in all spheres of life. The Enlightenment was named for its declared aim of dispelling the darkness of humanity through the light of reason. The eighteenth century is known as the Age of Enlightenment. Socially, it was the cultural expression of the rising bourgeoisie, opposed to political absolutism and the privileges of the nobility.
Key Figures of the Enlightenment
In France, the Enlightenment found its main ideologues: Montesquieu, Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot, and D’Alembert, who shaped this attitude in the Encyclopedia. Other important figures of the Enlightenment were Hume (UK), Kant (Germany), Aranda, Floridablanca, and Jovellanos (Spain).
Core Principles of the Enlightenment
The Enlightenment consisted of a critique of the Ancien Régime, characterized by:
- Exaltation of reason and natural human ability: During the French Revolution, even the “Goddess of Reason” was worshiped, associated with light and the progress of the human spirit. Enlightenment thinkers argued that human reason could combat ignorance, superstition, and tyranny, and build a better world. They considered education fundamental to developing reason, while passions and feelings were regarded as inherently evil. The Enlightenment defended a reason that was:
- Critical of the principle of authority.
- Autonomous and independent of faith: Voltaire was the author who most strenuously criticized intolerance and fanaticism in the religion of his time.
- Empirical: Technological developments (steam engine, lightning rod) led to increased confidence in science and experimentation.
- Belief in progress: Progress was seen as the engine of history, produced by combining science with art. Thanks to these advances, humanity would progress indefinitely.
- Naturalism: Nature is governed by mechanistic laws and may be explained by physical principles, without appealing to metaphysical entities. Nature was also considered the origin of all that is genuine, real, and authentic, as opposed to society, which perverts and corrupts humans, who are good by nature. The main figure who developed the social aspect of the Enlightenment was Jean-Jacques Rousseau (http://www.claseshistoria.com/antiguoregimen/ilustracionrousseau.htm).
- Freedom of expression and thought: These were considered fundamental rights by the Enlightenment, which itself defended the value of the equality of all people.
Impact of the Enlightenment
The Enlightenment brought with it a number of changes in all spheres of society:
- Political: The power of the clergy and nobility, as well as absolute monarchies, was restricted (real power would no longer have a divine origin). This occurred in France following the revolution of 1789 and in Prussia through reform. The latter established Enlightened Despotism (“everything for the people, but without the people”) under Frederick II, which allowed religious freedom and expression, permitting the publication of the works of Kant.
- Economic: With the Industrial Revolution, there was a transition from an agricultural society to a society based on industry and commerce.
- Social: The class-based society that had been carried over from feudalism (http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feudalismo) ended, and a new class emerged: the bourgeoisie (http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burgues%C3%ADa). This class became aware of its economic power and political impotence, and would conquer its destiny over the next century through various revolutions (1820, 1830, 1848), expanding its presence in the political organs of the state (http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristocracia), relegating the aristocracy to a subordinate role.
- Religious: While confidence in science and experimentation increased, religion lost strength regarding explanations about the world. This led to a process of secularization of society, resulting in the loss of the Church’s monopoly on knowledge and a progressive secularization of society.