The Fall of the Ancien Régime and the Rise of Modern Thought
The Fall of the Ancien Régime
A Critical Reason for the Ancien Régime’s Fall
In the first half of the 18th century, Europe was divided into two spheres of influence. Enlightened despotism poorly controlled the stress caused by a new economic aristocracy. This aristocracy demanded increasing political power and social influence, unsettling the lower classes and sowing the seeds of revolution. Meanwhile, the American colonies prospered. Among minorities and intellectuals, the encyclopedic mentality spread faster than in Europe.
The 1776 Declaration of Independence and its spirit spread throughout Europe. The bourgeoisie demanded freedom and equality, challenging the Old Regime. Neoclassicism looked back to ancient Greek and Roman origins of Western culture. Revolutionary movements in France, led by the bourgeoisie, ignited the French Revolution, opening a new chapter in history. On November 10, 1799, power shifted to Napoleon Bonaparte. The revolutionary process, after overthrowing and executing the king, culminated in the appointment of an emperor—an autocratic leader.
Napoleon’s significant achievements included reforms in administration and justice, the army, and the enactment of the civil code. His ambitious military campaigns across Europe and Africa united Europe against France and Napoleon. This era also witnessed the rise of Romanticism, born from disillusionment with the French Revolution. Revolutionary outbreaks occurred across Europe. In England, the first Industrial Revolution began silently in the latter half of the 18th century, with the successful application of the steam engine to industrial production.
The Enlightenment and the Romantic Impulse
Kant and Hegel
Immanuel Kant’s work became a landmark in the history of thought. While initially successful, his ideas were soon overshadowed by the rapid spread of Romanticism. Today, Kant is seen as the father of modern philosophy, modeling it on science. He argued that what we know is not reality as understood by the ancients; objects are not things outside ourselves, but phenomena represented in our minds. Kant’s philosophy is the culmination of the Enlightenment. He built a self-sufficient morality independent of God, needing no other human foundation. We are forced to pursue goals beyond our reach. Kant foreshadowed the mists of Romantic thought.
Hegel is considered the builder of the last great philosophical system of history. His work is subject to conflicting interpretations. The greatness of his system might stem from its foundation in a Platonic universe of ideas—a grand castle of words. If reality is rational, and reason rules the world and universal history, then everything is justified. What happens is what must happen, and any attempt to change history is doomed to fail. Hegel’s thought is viewed from a dual perspective. He addressed the concerns of philosophical tradition while answering questions relevant to his contemporaries.
Idealists, especially Hegel, championed reason. The almost two hundred years since this turning point in modern thought have seen a pendulum swing between Kant and Hegel—critique of Enlightenment reason, and a touch of skeptical, sentimental Romantic exaltation.
Kant’s Contribution
The Enlightenment’s primary objective was the affirmation of the human being as an autonomous individual through the critical exercise of reason. This culminated in the 18th-century revolutions: the American and French Revolutions, challenging the old regimes. Scientific knowledge also progressed dramatically, along with technological applications.
Modern philosophy is twofold. Descartes advocated a mechanistic worldview but affirmed the existence of a free spirit. This complex coexistence of two difficult-to-harmonize realities led to endless controversies about substance. Despite extensive discussion, philosophy made little progress in this vital area. Scientific progress revived interest in method. Hume’s criticism was particularly harsh: nothing is definite or certain; scientific knowledge is always provisional. If we cannot say there is a world beyond science, what kind of science will ours be? Newton and Clarke believed fundamental concepts of physics were part of the reality of objects. According to Hume, these ended up being unknowable.
Objectives
Kant sought to answer three questions: What can I know? What should I do? What can I expect? These are summarized in one final question: What is human? The person becomes the focus of reflection, the central problem.