The Enlightenment: Reason, Tolerance, and Key Philosophers
The Enlightenment: An Overview
Illustration: The Enlightenment was an 18th-century philosophical movement originating in England and deepening in France. It spread throughout Europe and America, promoting the use of reason to understand the world.
Immanuel Kant and the Enlightenment
Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher, lived during the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment, also known as the Age of Reason, emphasized reason as the primary source of authority and legitimacy.
- Kant defined the Enlightenment as humanity’s release from self-incurred immaturity.
- “Dare to know!” (Sapere aude) – Have courage to use your own reason!
- The Enlightenment encouraged individuals to think for themselves, using their own judgment as the ultimate test of truth.
The Enlightenment sought to overcome:
- Prejudices that blind and paralyze.
- Tradition.
- External authority imposed without rational justification.
- Superstitious credulity resulting from ignorance.
Enlightenment Reason
Enlightenment reason was characterized by tolerance.
Voltaire and Tolerance
Voltaire (1694-1778) believed that tolerance is a fundamental heritage of reason.
Background of the Enlightenment
The roots of Enlightenment thought lie in classical Greece, where philosophers recognized human intellectual capacity and a rational order in nature. Its immediate antecedents are found in the 17th century, a period of intellectual transition marked by debates between old and new ideas. Key themes included nature, reason, and progress.
Idealism
Idealism opposes realism, emphasizing the role of the mind in constructing reality. It seeks to understand the world through spiritual activity, identifying the real with the rational and the object with consciousness.
Realism
René Descartes, a key figure in philosophy, sought to exclude sensory perceptions in the pursuit of truth, relying instead on intellectual reasoning.
Positivism
Positivism is a philosophical system asserting that truth derives from experience and empirical verification.
Representatives of the Enlightenment
Voltaire
Voltaire defended the rights of individuals to govern themselves by reason, provided it did not disrupt social order. He advocated for freedom of thought and religious views.
Voltaire believed in deism, a natural religion where God created the universe but does not intervene in its ongoing operation.