The Enlightenment: A Revolution in Thought and Society
The End of the Ancien Regime
The eighteenth-century Enlightenment marked a pivotal moment in history, characterized by a clash between old and new ideas that fueled revolutions in the nineteenth century. This era signaled the decline of the ancien regime, as absolute monarchs struggled to maintain power in the face of growing calls for change. Revolutions, which had begun in England during the seventeenth century, gained momentum with the American and French Revolutions of 1776 and 1789, respectively.
The Rise of the Bourgeoisie
These revolutions propelled the bourgeoisie to power throughout the nineteenth century. This increasingly influential class, empowered by trade and industry, championed the concept of citizens with equal political rights, challenging the privileges of the aristocracy. The Enlightenment provided a framework for human emancipation, driven by scientific advancements, including Newton’s discoveries, and progress in various fields of knowledge.
The Age of Reason and Progress
The Enlightenment, also known as the Age of Reason, marked a departure from fanaticism and embraced rationality. The Encyclopedia, a monumental effort to compile all human knowledge, exemplified this spirit. Neoclassicism, emphasizing reason and order, dominated the arts, replacing the extravagance of the Baroque. The ideals of Freedom, Equality, and Fraternity became central to political discourse.
The Emergence of a New Society
The Enlightenment paved the way for a new bourgeois and capitalist society, guided by contractual liberalism in politics and economic liberalism advocated by Adam Smith. Philosophy played a crucial role, guiding other sciences towards the emancipation of humankind.
Philosophical Developments
The century began with a debate between the rationalism of Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibniz and the emerging empiricism of Locke, Berkeley, and Hume. Influential figures in political philosophy, such as Rousseau, emerged. Thinkers like Voltaire and the Encyclopedists in France sowed the seeds of future revolutions. Kant’s philosophy aimed to synthesize and transcend previous thought.
Philosophy’s Role in Shaping Society
Enlightenment philosophy was not merely academic; it sought to understand and change the world, creating a more just society based on reason. Kant described this era as humanity’s departure from self-imposed immaturity.
David Hume and Empiricism
Denial of Metaphysics
David Hume, alongside Locke, was a prominent figure in empiricism. He pushed this school of thought to its limits through his analysis and critique of metaphysics and morality. Hume challenged the traditional foundations of philosophy, particularly the notion of causality. He argued that reason alone cannot establish a necessary connection between cause and effect without the aid of experience. Hume’s famous example of billiard balls colliding illustrates this point. While one event may consistently follow another, this does not imply a necessary connection. Hume concluded that all knowledge is derived from experience and that metaphysics, dealing with concepts beyond experience, is ultimately futile.
Theory of Knowledge
Hume’s empiricism was influenced by Locke and Berkeley. He distinguished between impressions, which are vivid and immediate perceptions, and ideas, which are fainter copies of impressions. The mind, according to Hume, can combine and categorize ideas based on resemblance, contiguity, and causation. Hume’s criterion of truth rests on the correspondence between ideas and impressions. This approach served as a critical tool for evaluating traditional philosophical concepts like substance, soul, and God, as none of these ideas correspond to direct impressions.
Ethics
Hume challenged ethical systems that attempted to ground morality in reason. He argued that moral distinctions are based on feelings rather than reason. Good and evil are not inherent properties of objects but are determined by the pleasure or displeasure that actions evoke in us. While reason plays a role in moral decision-making, it is not sufficient on its own. Hume’s ethical theory emphasizes the importance of emotions in shaping our moral judgments.
Hume’s Law
Hume or guillotine.