The age of enlightenment refers to a knowledge and cultural movement in Europe and America in the 17th and 18th centuries. The movement believes that the rational development of knowledge can solve the basic problems of human existence. The enlightenment is inevitable, but there are also reasons. The following is what I brought about the causes of the enlightenment. Welcome to read it!
(1) from the 17th to 18th centuries, the capitalism in Western Europe developed, the bourgeoisie grew stronger and stronger, and the feudal autocratic system has become an obstacle to its development. For their own interests, the bourgeoisie urgently demands the end of the old system, so the bourgeoisie must first make ideological preparations for the revolution
(2) the rapid development of natural science has liberated people's minds and provided a basis for ideological emancipation. During this period, the rapid development and progress of science and technology provided people with new ideological weapons, and made people realize that the development of human society is regular like nature, and human society is constantly progressing. For example, Descartes at that time believed that the world could be understood by means of mathematical reasoning; Bacon pointed out that in order to understand the phenomena in the world, induction from special to general and from concrete to abstract can be used; Newton's three laws and the law of universal gravitation show that the natural law of the movement of nature itself controls the material world. These scientific achievements made the Enlightenment thinkers believe that human society also has certain natural laws, which are developed independently from the control of "God". Enlightenment thinkers strive to discover the eternal law that governs mankind and society, that is, to explore the law that promotes the continuous progress of human society itself. Therefore, a cultural movement adapted to the political requirements of the bourgeoisie rose.
(3) this movement is an ideological and cultural movement that developed greatly on the basis of humanism advocated by the European Renaissance in the 14th ~ 16th century. Its content and influence have greatly exceeded the Renaissance. It is the second ideological liberation movement in Europe, known as the enlightenment in history.
Historical development
The enlightenment took place in Europe in the 18th century, initially in Britain. Then it developed to France, Germany and Russia. In addition, it also affected the Netherlands, Belgium and other countries. France is the center of the enlightenment movement. Compared with other countries, the enlightenment movement in France has the greatest momentum, the strongest militancy and the most far-reaching influence. It can be called a model of the enlightenment movement in Western European countries. The leader of the French Enlightenment was Voltaire. His thought had a great impact on Europe in the 18th century, so later people once said: "the 18th century is Voltaire's century."
Both Voltaire and Rousseau had the thought of unifying Europe. The final realization of this thought was the entry into force of the Mayo treaty in 1993 and the establishment of the European Union.
French movement
Declaration of human rights 1. Resistance to authority (French philosophers were attracted by Newton's cosmic physics and inspired by Locke's political philosophy. Inspired by Descartes, they believed that everyone must find their own answers to questions. Part of the slogan was aimed at priests, kings and nobles at that time.)
2、 Rationalism (the French Revolution in 1789. The emerging natural sciences proved that nature was governed by admissibility. Most philosophers of the enlightenment, like ancient humanists such as Socrates and Stoic school, firmly believed in human rationality. Therefore, the French Enlightenment was called the "era of rationality". Philosophers believed that they had the responsibility to lay the foundation for morality, religion and ethics based on human invariable rationality.)
3. The Enlightenment ("enlighten" the masses' ignorance in order to build a better society. The reason why people live a poor and oppressed life is because of material and superstition. The school system began in the middle ages, while pedagogy began in the era of enlightenment.)
4. Cultural optimism (irrational behavior and ignorance will sooner or later be replaced by "civilized" human nature. All development is not good. Philosophers in the enlightenment believed that human nature will make great progress once human reason is developed and knowledge is popularized.)
5. Return to nature (some people put forward the slogan of "return to nature". Human rationality is the gift of nature, not the product of religion or "civilization". Rousseau put forward the slogan of "human beings should return to nature", believing that adults should let children stay in their innocent "natural" state as far as possible.)
6、 Natural religion (people believe that religion must be naturalized, and religion must coexist harmoniously with the rationality of "nature". At that time, many people established the so-called "natural religion" And struggle. At that time, many materialists did not believe in God and called themselves atheists, but most philosophers in the enlightenment believed that it was unreasonable to deny the existence of God, because the world was too organized to exist without God. Newton held this view. Similarly, these Enlightenment philosophers believed that it was reasonable to believe in the immortality of the soul. Like Descartes, they believe that whether people have an immortal soul is not a matter of faith, but a matter of reason.)
7. Human rights (in 1789, the French National Assembly adopted the Declaration on human rights and citizenship, which established the principle of "inviolability of individual rights". At the noon of 1787, Condorcet, the philosopher of the enlightenment, published a paper on women's rights. He advocated that women have the same "natural rights" as men. During the French Revolution in 1789, women were very active in resisting the old feudal regime. For example, it was women who led the demonstrations and forced the king to leave the palace of Versailles. Later, women's groups were established in Paris. In addition to the same right to participate in politics as men, they also called for the amendment of the marriage law and the improvement of women's social status. But they don't get these rights.)
The enlightenment is an unprecedented ideological liberation movement, which further liberated people's minds and impacted the feudal autocratic rule in Europe. Under the influence of the enlightenment, France broke out a vigorous revolution, overthrew the autocratic Dynasty, established bourgeois rule, and spread the ideas of freedom and equality. The influence of the enlightenment went far beyond Europe and greatly encouraged the colonial and semi colonial people's struggle for national independence. Enlightenment thought has become a spiritual weapon for people to pursue liberation and has played an important role in the development of human history. " This statement can be broken down from three aspects: first, the ideological contribution to the emancipation of the mind and the development of humanism. Second, its political criticism mobilized and encouraged the outbreak of the French Revolution, the British colonies in North America and the independence movement in Latin America. Third, it has established the ideological and political structure of capitalist class and freedom. Fourth, the bourgeoisie in Asian countries, including China, has gone beyond France and even Europe and the United States regionally_ The movement had an impact.
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