Essays on The Enlightenment

The Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizens, both published in 1791, were important documents in the history of the world that greatly influenced the 1984 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Both these articles provided the foundation for the United States Constitution, as well as the creation of the first republic government of France. Guided by the spirit and philosophical ideology of liberalism surrounding the aftermath of the French Revolution, both documents endeavored to create and establish an ideal liberal democratic government in both United States and France However, the French revolution ...

Philosophy of the Enlightenment. The Ideas of Francis Bacon and their comparison to those of René Descartes. Francis Bacon is considered to be the major prophet of the Scientific Revolution. At the age of twelve Bacon went to study at He went to Trinity College, Cambridge at the age of twelve, got a lawyer education later on. He proceeded to a political career hoping to advance his ideas. He was a member of the House of Commons and knighted during the reign of King James I, although during that of Queen Elizabeth he was neglected by her. Bacon was ...

Britons’ decision to exit European Union is a reflection of their socio – cultural specificities and their expectations for an envisioned life in United Kingdom. When analyzing the Brexit decision, there should be considered the tight vote, as 52% of the voters opted for leaving EU, while 48% voted for remaining (Erlanger para 4). This score indicates that leaving EU was not a unanimous decision, but one that reflected the diverse interests and reasons of Britons. Connected with the liberal ideas coming out of enlightenment, this liberal exercise of reasoning echoes Kant’s urge to reason, breaking free from religious ...

The Enlightenment period also referred to as the Age of Reason is used to describe the time in history began with the end of Thirty Years War and to the end of the French Revolution. This period marked a significant radical shift in the government, culture, and politics. The period embraced some philosophies to think as well as explore the world (Best 30).. In global enlightened thinkers were considered to think objectively without prejudice. The period was marked by rationalism, reasoning, and empiricism. The argument was advocated as a means of establishing reliable systems of government, religion, and ...

Literature

The Age of Enlightenment. Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. Introduction In this essay, we would like to dwell on the Age of Enlightenment as a period that has diverted the course of the literature in XVII-XVIII centuries in America. We will discuss the main features and representatives of this period. We chose Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson as two of the most prominent writers of this age. With the help of their works, we will describe their view, beliefs, and ideas. Thesis statement The Age of Enlightenment was a wide ideological movement. It reflected new social, political, cultural, and ...

Literature

In this essay, we will analyze the life and views of two prominent American figures Jonathan Edwards and Benjamin Franklin. Despite the fact that they live in the same time period they have completely different lifestyles and views. They both tried to come up to perfection and did it in their own particular way. This is the main question of the essay. The comparison of two views will be presented with the help of the analysis of Jonathan Edwards’ works ‘Resolutions’, ‘Personal Narrative’ and Benjamin Franklin’s ‘Poor Richard’s Almanacks’. In the analysis, the comparison of their views ...

Liberty or freedom as a primary social, political and economic ideal which should be strived for is a relatively recent development in world history. The idea that the individual should be the primary subject and that individual freedom is a universal good and something which determines the quality of life and the quality or lack thereof of a government.  Freedom is conceived in two different and opposite ways. Positive freedom and negative freedom. The concept of positive freedom is encapsulated by the idea of agency. The idea which a person or subject has agency which means that they have ...

Inflicting inferiority complex among the native dwellers is one way in which Europeans used to conquer and rule other lands. They got into the land that belonged to other people then try to convince those people that they are more superior to them. That they are a special race miles ahead of others. The superiority that the Europeans focused on when they first settled in America was race and religion. They made the native Americans believe that Christianity was the superior religion and that should be adhered by everybody on earth. They, therefore made the Native American feel that ...

The French Revolution was one of the most important moments in world history. The French Revolution symbolized that the ideologies and methods of the Enlightenment were no longer only the work of philosophes, academics and of the salons of Paris. The French Revolution was the moment when all of this theoretical knowledge regarding the way societies and governments should be organized left the pages and entered the streets, the cafes and the political clubs.  The French Revolution was the result of a crisis in France’s ancien regime and its assertion of the division of the state, the polity, ...

Romanticism. Introduction. As many got tired of regularity and rationality of Classicism, people of art started to try to find a way to express their emotions and attitudes through methods more free from canons. They found such possibility in Romanticism. Romanticism replaces the Age of Enlightenment, and coincided with the industrial revolution, that was marked by the advent of the steam engine, locomotive, ship, photos, and factory suburbs. While education was characterized by the cult of reason, and was based on its principles of civilization, romanticism advocated the cult of nature, senses and all the natural in man. It ...

Abstract

There are many economies that have developed at a significant pace, such as Japan, and many economies that are flagging behind these countries, such as India. Is this development hindered or encouraged by internal and/or external factors? The question remains as to why certain countries are developing faster than others needs to explored, which is what the first half of this essay will do. An analysis will be conducted into how the role of the state, stimuluses for modernisation, social structure and cultural factors play their part in either hindering or encouraging development in these countries. The interference of ...

History is full of wars, battles, rebellions and revolutions between peoples all across the globe for a plethora of reasons, both, ethical and unethical. When issues cannot be resolved and unrest begins to stir it is, fairly, inevitable, especially when that unrest involves a greater dominating force oppressing a more vulnerable one. This is when rebellion can occur and revolutions begin. One of the most famous revolutionary wars is, of course, the fight for American independence from British rule. But there was another revolution that took place, in the same era, where people rebelled against their oppression in order ...

The epistolary novel by Charles de Secondat baron de Montesquieu, the “Persian Letters” gives a reflection of the eighteenth century society. It is therefore a critical primary source in regard to eighteenth century history considering the major changes of historical significance that were taking place at the time. One such change was the dawn of the age of enlightenment also referred to as the age of reason. The historical perspective of the novel may be lost because of Montesquieu’s extensive use of satire. However, it is intended to draw the attention of the reader towards the primary themes ...

Analysis of the novel

“Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus” is an outstanding work by Mary Shelley who focuses on the deep exploration of various feelings, emotions, motives, and actions pervading the human mind. At first glance, the book appears quite simple, and the characters are easy to criticize and judge. However, by the end of “Frankenstein,” I was impressed by its depth and major topics covered by the writer. The style of this masterpiece also impressed me. Besides, Mary Shelley has a great ability to present details and depicts the Swiss scenery in a highly vivid manner. In my opinion, with the achievements ...

Introduction

Karen Warren coined the term “Ecofeminism” in explaining the logic of domination where the notion of people’s control over nature as a whole is wrong and for the same reason that the subordination of women to the will of men is also wrong. According to argument, feminists should object to the idea domination because subordination of women and domination over nature both represents the logic of domination. On the other hand, the asserted claim of twin domination encompasses several issues. In this discussion, Warren’s logic of domination and the concept of ecofeminism will be examined by explaining ...

The book “Democratic Insecurities: Violence Trauma And Intervention In Haiti” by Erica James examines the connection between the problems that Haiti has with democracy and security and the level of humanitarian and military involvement that has occurred within the country. The author examines the effect that the recent history of political strife has resulted in changes in the way that the citizens identified with themselves and with their government. These changes, the author contends are rooted in the violence and repression that these individuals have been subjected to. As these groups continue to intervene in the lives of the ...

THE ENLIGHTENMENT AND THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

The French Revolution was known for its blood-lined streets, rioting peasants, and terrifying regime changes. However, all death and destruction aside, the protesters of this time were heavily influenced by the thinkers that had come before them and brought new ideas to light. While the results were bloody, the intentions were lodged in modern thought. The Enlightenment was a time that influenced many historical movements in the future and had a significant impact on the political structure of France before and after the revolution. The driving force behind this movement was the writings of the philosophes and their contributions ...

The Vimalakirti is essential in understanding vague passages of the Koan for it details the concept of enlightenment through Buddha’s words through the use of narratives derived from Buddha’s conversation with the Bodhisattvas. The purpose of this paper is to explain how the Vimalakirti can be a useful reference in reading the Koan. In this respect, two texts dealing with the argument have been tackling the issue of attaining enlightenment. According to the Vimalakirti sutra, when the Buddha was asked by his fellow men in order to attain enlightenment, they gave him gifts to become an enlightened ...

Every literary epoch has its own features. However, they have some common and different characteristics. Romanticism and Beat Generation are two different generations and the brightest representatives are William Blake and Jack Kerouac. It is important to look at both literary directions in order to understand the authors who belonged to these movements. Romanticism was an artistic development that cleared through practically every nation of Europe, the United States, and Latin America that kept going from around 1750 to 1870. Nonetheless, the Romantic Movement did not achieve France until the1820's. Sentimentalism's crucial soul was one of rebellion against a ...

The Marxian theory and the Enlightenment theory express different views on subjectivity. In this work attention is paid to the key differences between the Marxian theory and the enlightenment theory and how each of them influence the definition of a just society, the most widely practiced theory today is also considered. The Marxian theory sees man’s status and happiness to be determined by alterations in man’s material possessions (Marx 11). It basically views man to be subject to his material possessions and to some extent not able to function independently in cases where the material possessions are ...

Education plays a crucial role in the betterment of one’s life. In fact, it leads to the intellectual growth of an individual and it makes a tremendous contribution to the quality of life one is likely to embrace. With this in mind, it is worth appreciating the fact that the lack of education can jeopardize the quality of one’s life. As such, it is imperative that the government implements proper measures in the administration of education since lack thereof compromises the value of learning offered to students. I believe that education should not be blended in political ...

In 1764, Cesare Beccaria published the book, On Crime and Punishment. His work provided the foundations of classical criminology. In classical criminology, benefits and consequences are argued to be behind all human behavior. Most people compare the future benefits and costs of particular actions before they commit a crime. The argument put forward is that individuals would not participate in any criminal action if the cost is relatively higher than the benefit (Marcello 3). This paper seeks to analyze the Beccaria’s classical school of criminology and how it changed the justice system in the western world. It also ...

Of Marx/ Engels, Durkheim, and Weber

Of Marx/ Engels, Durkheim, and Weber I. Marx There are many ways by which Marx’ methodology can be viewed, and reading through his works leads to the realization of his socialism concept. In Marx’ Capitalist, he expressed how production is initiated, not because man is under the control of political power, but because he is a social being that needs to participate in the production of goods that will benefit the whole society. This was expressed in his work when he wrote, “socialized man, the associated producers, regulate their interchange with nature rationally,” (Marx, 1869, pp. 944), thus allowing ...

The Age of Enlightenment is also commonly referred to as the Age of Reason. It lasted from 1650 to 1800. Many agree that the cause of Enlightenment was the Thirty Year War (1618-1648) though it was only an outcrop of many underlying issues that faced Europe at the time (Broner, 122). It came to an end during the French revolution. It is such wars that motivated German philosophers and authors to criticize the idea of nationalism and wars to protect nationhood. The German authors included Hugo Grotius and John Cornenius, who were the pioneers of the ideas that formed ...

After the defilement of the congregation and consequent breakout of the French Revolution, their impact had extremely debilitated. Despite the fact that the impact of the clergy toward the end of the eighteenth century had practically no practical effect, the years to come after the end of the French Revolution demonstrated the quality and flexibility of the congregation. It wasn't until the state-church bargain was marked by both the religious pioneers and the administration pioneers of France when the enduring impact of Catholicism started to be felt once more, and thus, this impact would be felt all through history ...