Week 6
This week, we’ll build on some important Enlightenment themes that have contributed to the outlook we consider to be “modern”… a belief in human reason; a belief in progress, as contrasted with the more traditional cyclical world view; a growing sense that science can be applied to human society, ultimately leading to the whole new realm of study we call the social sciences; and the human experience as a heroic individual journey. We will look at the kinds of social and political outcomes we begin to see when these themes combine to bring into the world human beings who believe they can perfect human society by implementing social and political movements in the real world. These efforts at perfecting the human experience have taken many forms during the modern era, endeavoring at their best to make us more free, more equal, more fair – they bought us the American and French revolutions, but they also brought us Hitler’s Germany and colonial racism. How can “Enlightenment” be expressed in such different ways?
First, please read these two articles – one a short overview and the other an analysis of the long-term impact of the Enlightenment by Steven Pinker. Respond to Pinker’s analysis with your own thoughts in Part 1 of your blog post for this week.
https://www.history.com/topics/british-history/enlightenment
Then, do some research on the ideas of an Enlightenment-era thinker of your choice. Some suggestions would be: Thomas Hobbes, Rene Descartes, John Stuart Mills, John Locke, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Thomas Jefferson, Voltaire, Condorcet, Alexis de Tocqueville. You can choose one of these or any other Enlightenment thinker. In Part 2 of your blog this week, summarize the person’s key ideas and writings, and write a few paragraphs discussing the real-world impact of those ideas. Post this to your blog.
Finally, read the blog posts of at least 2 other students in the class and post thoughtful replies using the “Comments” feature of the blog site. How did your fellow student’s blog post add to your learning about the Enlightenment this week?
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