Age of Enlightenment

The Age of Enlightenment: Period

There is an ongoing debate on the timeline of the Enlightenment. The beginning of the Age of Enlightenment is usually dated from the death of Louis XIV (b. 1638) of France in 1715 and its end in 1789 with the beginning of the French Revolution.

While some historians date the beginning of the Enlightenment back to 1637, the year René Descartes's (1596–1650) Discourse on the Method was published. It contained Descartes's most quoted phrase, 'Cogito, ergo sum', which translates as 'I think, therefore I am', reflecting the philosophical enquiry into knowledge and its origins. Some also argue that the Enlightenment began with the publication of Sir Isaac Newton's (1643–1727) Principia Mathematica (1687) and the death of Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) in 1804 as the end of the Enlightenment era.

Since there is no consensus on the dates of the Enlightenment, it is a good idea to look at the period leading up to the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth century to understand the Enlightenment era better.

The Age of Enlightenment: Summary

The English name Age of Enlightenment is a translation inspired by the French Siècle des Lumières and the German Aufklärung, centred on the idea of light, both referring to the Enlightenment in Europe.

The origins of the Enlightenment can be traced back to the English Civil Wars. With the re-establishment of the monarchy following the restoration of Charles II (1630–1685) in 1660, political thinkers of the time, like Thomas Hobbes (1588– 1679) and John Locke (1632–1704), began to contemplate political systems that could be more conducive for progress.

The inspiration behind the Enlightenment mindset is usually traced back to thinkers like Francis Bacon (1561– 1626), Descartes (1596–1650), Voltaire (1694–1778), and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716). The philosophy of Immanuel Kant is considered to be an important philosophy from the Age of Enlightenment. Kant's essay 'What Is Enlightenment?' (1784) defines Enlightenment as the liberation of mankind from self-imposed oppression.

Fig. 1 Locke's two treatises influenced the Enlightenment thinkers.

The scientific revolution brought forth by the discoveries and inventions of Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543), Galileo Galilei (1564–1642), and Newton challenged the mainstream religious beliefs and dogmas of the time. In America, the principles of the Enlightenment were represented by political figures and thinkers like Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) and Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), who ultimately helped shape the founding documents of the United States.

The Enlightenment was a turning point in history, often claimed to be a pathway into modernity. The Enlightenment ideals inspired several events in modern history. The modern culture based on facts and technological advances is hugely inspired by Enlightenment values.

The Enlightenment mindset was characterised by a shift from religion as the primary source of authority, replaced by the trust in human reason, individualism, tolerance, scientific advancement, and exploration, which are some of the hallmarks of the modern world.

The Age of Enlightenment: Literature

Many French authors of the Enlightenment period drew inspiration from classic tales and legends along with the classicist aesthetic. A great example of classical French literature is the works of comic dramatist Jean Baptiste Poquelin (1622–73), who wrote under the pen name Molière. His masterpiece, Le Misanthrope (1666), is a satirical composition attacking the petty pursuits and unfairness of high society.

The Age of Enlightenment: poetry

Poetry in the Age of Enlightenment showed an erudite nature in how the poets sought to educate the public. While poetry was still considered to be a superior form of art, it became more concerned with the Humanist tradition that began during the Renaissance. As for the conventional requirement for poetry to imitate nature, the thematic shift towards reason was justified by the argument that nature is best understood through reason.

The forms of poetry that were prominent during the Enlightenment period are sentimental poetry, satire, and essay poems.

The works of the late seventeenth-century English poet John Milton are regarded as the best of the Age of Enlightenment poetry. Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost (1667) is one of the greatest poems in English after Homer's (b. 8 BCE) epics and works of Shakespeare (1564–1616). Containing ten books and over ten thousand lines of verse, Paradise Lost tells the Biblical story of Adam and Eve's fall from grace and Satan's revolt.

The power of poetry to influence society was not lost on the poets of the time. Poets of different political persuasion used their voices to promote both conservative and liberal agendas. It is also important to remember that by the eighteenth century, the earlier systems of circulation of poetry and literature had changed radically, from patronage to the printing press. Once the copyright laws were introduced, writers had more creative freedom to express their opinions and earn a living. The expansion of the publishing industry gave rise to different genres of literature meant for education or enjoyment.

Novel

The Age of Enlightenment was part of the formative age of the novel, starting from the 1500s. Although the rise of the novel wasn't complete until the nineteenth century and novelists were less popular during that time, there have been great works that have now secured their place in the Western Canon. For example, Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616) in Spain, François Rabelais (date of birth speculated to be around 1490– 1553) in France, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) in Germany, and the English writer Henry Fielding (1707–1754) are celebrated novelists who are widely studied today.

Daniel Defoe (1660–1731) and Jonathan Swift were among the prominent English writers of the Enlightenment period. Defoe's Robinson Crusoe (1719) and Moll Flanders (1722), and Swift's Gulliver's Travels (1726) are examples of how writers of the Enlightenment era attempted to educate and inform the public. As an Irish-English author, Swift's satirical prose on different topics, including ethics and politics in society and the ill-treatment of the Irish. Swift was among the two leading figures of Enlightenment satire, the other being the French writer Voltaire (1694–1778). Candide, ou l'Optimisme (French; Candide, or the Optimist), published in 1959, is a French novella by Voltaire that showcases the nature of satire during the Age of Enlightenment.

Satire

The Enlightenment writers challenged the authority of religion and government. Through their works, they became vocal opponents of censorship and constraints on individual freedom and, especially, interference of the Church in civil society. These issues became the thematic concern for many writers during the Enlightenment, including Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope, culminating in what is known as the Golden Age of Satire (late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries).

Alexander Pope's mock-epic poems during the Augustan age, including The Rape of the Lock (1712), are examples of Neoclassicism that coincided with the Age of Enlightenment. In the poem, Pope narrates the tensions and tussles between a woman and her suitor, who cuts a lock of her hair as an act of revenge. In the mock-heroic poem, Pope satirises this trivial incident using exaggeration and hyperbole to compare their scuffles to epic battles between Gods as portrayed in the Greek classics.

'An Essay on Criticism' (1711) is another example of Alexander Pope's writing.

Fig. 2 John Milton's Paradise Lost is considered to be a literary masterpiece.

The Age of Enlightenment: Quotes

While there are several writers and philosophers who contributed to Enlightenment thought and philosophy, there are a few who are most widely regarded as crucial to Enlightenment thinking and subsequent cultural changes. Bacon, Kant, and Locke (quoted here) are among them.

The emphasis on knowledge, freedom, and progress is evident in these quotes.

John Locke was an influential name during the Enlightenment period. In 'Thoughts Concerning Education' (1693 ), Locke spells out the three natural rights that are fundamental to man: life, liberty and property.

Locke also wrote about knowledge and perception, suggesting that the mind was a clean slate at birth and acquires ideas later through experience.