The Enlightenment and the Age of Reason in Philosophy

he Enlightenment And The Age Of Reason In Philosophy

Western Europe's worship of reason, reflected only vaguely in art and

literature, was precisely expressed in a set of philosophic ideas known

collectively as the Enlightenment. It was not originally a popular movement.

Catching on first among scientists, philosophers, and some theologians, it was

then taken up by literary figures, who spread its message among the middle

classes. Ultimately, it reached the common people in simplified terms

associated with popular grievances.

The most fundamental concept of the Enlightenment were faith in nature

and belief in human progress. Nature was seen as a complex of interacting laws

governing the universe. The individual human being, as part of that system,

was designed to act rationally. If free to exercise their reason, people were

naturally good and would act to further the happiness of others. Accordingly,

both human righteousness and happiness required freedom from needless

restraints, such as many of those imposed by the state or the church. The

Enlightenment's uncompromising hostility towards organized religion and

established monarchy reflected a disdain for the past and an inclination to

favor utopian reform schemes. Most of its thinkers believed passionately in

human progress through education. They thought society would become perfect if

people were free to use their reason.

Before the eighteenth century, the Enlightenment was confined to Holland

and England. Its earlier Dutch spokesmen were religious refugees, like the

French Huguenot Pierre Bayle (1674-1706), whose skepticism and pleas for

religious toleration were widely known in France. Baruch Spinoza (1632-1687),

a Jewish intellectual and Holland's greatest philosopher, was a spokesman for

pantheism, the belief that God exists in all of nature. Spinoza's influence,

along with Newton's, profoundly affected English thinkers. Mary Astell

(1666-1731), perhaps the earliest influential English feminist, lauded

rational thinking and cited Newton as proof of an ordered universe. Such ideas

were given more credibility by John Locke (1632-1704), the famous English

philosopher. Back home from exile in Holland after the Glorious Revolution of

the 1680s, Locke applied Newton's recently published principles to psychology,

economics, and political theory. With Locke, the Enlightenment came to

maturity and began to spread abroad.

After the Peace of Utrecht (1713), the Enlightenment was largely a French

Phenomenon. Its leading proponents were known as the philosophes, although the

term cannot in this instance be translated literally as "philosophers." The

philosophes were mostly writers and intellectuals who analyzed the evils of

society and sought reforms in accord with the principles of reason. Their most

supportive allies were the salonnieres, that is, the socially conscious and

sometimes learned women who regularly entertained them, at the same time

sponsoring their discussion of literary works, artistic creations, and new

political ideas. By 1750, the salonnieres, their salons, and the philosophes

had made France once again the intellectual center of Europe.

A leading light among the philosophes was the Marquis de Montesquieu

(1688-1755), a judicial official as well as a titled nobleman. He was among

the earliest critics of absolute monarchy. From his extensive foreign travel

and wide reading he developed a great respect for English liberty and a sense

of objectivity in viewing European institutions, particularly those of France.

Montesquieu's Persian Letters (1721), which purported to contain reports of an

Oriental traveler in Europe, describing the irrational behavior and ridiculous

customs of Europeans, delighted a large reading audience. His other great

work, The Spirit of Laws (1748), expressed his main political principles. It

is noted for its practical common sense, its objective recognition of

geographic influences on political systems, its advocacy of checks and

balances in government, and its uncompromising defense of liberty against

tyranny.

More than any of the philosophes, Voltaire personified the skepticism of

his century toward traditional religion and the injustices of the Old Regimes.

His caustic pen brought him two imprisonments in the Bastille and even

banishment to England for three years. On returning to France, Voltaire

continued to champion toleration. He