Chapter 17 European Revolutions of Society and State,

1714-1815
Section 2 The Age of Enlightenment
While European nations remained embroiled in alliances and warfare
throughout much of the 18th century, a revolution in intellectual activity
began to change the way many Europeans thought about themselves and
their societies. In his 1759i[lxiii] tale Candide, for example, the French
writer Voltaireii[lxiv] criticized what he saw as a pointless conflict between
Great Britain and France over territory in North America: These two
nations are at war over a few acres of snow out around Canada, and . . .
they are spending on that fine war much more than all of Canada is
worth.iii[lxv] As more and more people became aware of the discoveries
of the Scientific Revolution, they also became more interested in
understanding the nature of the physical world around them rather than
concentrating on how to achieve salvation in the next world. The
popularization of the new science, and especially the discovery of
seemingly natural, mechanistic laws that governed the physical universe,
also caused many literate Europeans to question the traditional
foundations of politics and society foundations rooted in the old
medieval religious conceptions of the world. This change of ideas and
attitudes became known as the Enlightenment.iv[lxvi]
Popularizing Enlightenment Ideas
As the Scientific Revolution progressed in the 1600s,v[lxvii] European
scholars began to accumulate a vast body of knowledge about nature
through the use of systematic, scientific methods. In the 1700svi[lxviii] the
ideas and methods of the Scientific Revolution found a wider audience.
Many educated people embarked on the study of the natural world around
them and began to believe that for every natural phenomenon there was
both a cause and an effect.
The great thinkers of the Enlightenment were called philosophes, the
French word for philosophers. The philosophes popularized the new
science and the application of scientific methods to the study of the human
condition. They believed that truth could be arrived at solely by the
application of reason, or logical thought, to observationa belief known
as rationalism.
A new view of the world. The philosophes based their ideas on several
major assumptions. The first, rooted in the discoveries of scientific
investigators like Newton, was that nature was regulated according to a

uniform system of natural law. A second assumption was that human

behavior could also be understood through the use of natural law.vii[lxix]
The last major assumption was that people should use this knowledge to
work toward perfecting both themselves and society. Consequently, the
Enlightenment fostered a growing sense of individualism, the importance
of personal freedom, and the basic equality of all individuals.
Progress. The idea of progress was one of the most significant outcomes
of enlightened thought. Because scientists had discovered new truths, the
philosophes came to believe that human life could constantly improve.
Progress in individuals could be measured by their discovery and
application of natural law, which would make them more aware of their
role in the universe. The philosophes hoped to achieve progress not only in
individuals but also in society.
One target of the philosophes was the church. Some saw the church as an
obstacle to progress since it taught people to focus attention on the afterlife
instead of improving conditions on earth. For example, the French writer
Voltaire was vehement in his criticism of the church. He complained that
the church taught people to believe in miracles, which contradicted the
laws of nature. In addition, he denounced the church's teaching that
humankind was innately evil, when he believed it was actually good.viii
[lxx] His famous cry of crush the infamous thing! expressed his
frustration with the power of the church to suppress rationalism.
In keeping with their emphasis on reason and natural law, many of the
philosophes advocated a new attitude toward religion, known as deism.
These deists saw God as the creator of a rational, orderly universe
governed by natural law. Once he had created the universe, they believed,
he no longer interfered in its functioning. Consequently, human beings had
a moral responsibility to apply the laws of nature to improve the human
condition themselves.
Spreading the Enlightenment. Because the philosophes believed that
knowledge was the key to human progress, they made a great effort to
share their knowledge with the educated public. Denis Diderotix[lxxi]
edited the Encyclopdie, a multi-volume collaborative work of more than
200 experts,x[lxxii] which was intended to encompass the sum of human
knowledge. Other philosophes published their ideas in newspapers and
journals or spread their ideas through scientific or cultural clubs.
One important place for the exchange of ideas was the salon, a gathering
of the social, political, and cultural elites. Upper-class women, who held
the salons in their homes, played a crucial role in the Enlightenment by
bringing about the meetings of great minds. The salons provided intelligent

women with the opportunity to contribute to the intellectual debates of the

day. Amid lavish entertainment and intelligent conversation, the
philosophes, both men and women, could meet and exchange ideas.

"Abb Delille reciting his poem, La Conversation in the salon of Madame Geoffrin" from Jacques Delille,
"La Conversation" (Paris, 1812) Courtesy of Harvard University (Goodman, 1). Taken from
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/rschwart/hist255-s01/paris_homework/geoffrin.salon.jp

Social Criticism
The philosophes used their rational arguments concerning the nature of
humanity to question many established patterns of European society. The
new conception of human nature put forth by John Lockexi[lxxiii] in the
1600sxii[lxxiv] helped shape the philosophes' attitude toward society. Locke
wrote that human beings were born without innate ideas or principlesin
other words, the human mind was a tabula rasa, or clean slate.xiii[lxxv]
According to Locke, human beings were shaped by their environment,
education, and society. The philosophes of the 1700sxiv[lxxvi] agreed with
Locke, and they emphasized the importance of education and environment
in giving people the tools needed to improve society.
Judicial reform. Many of the philosophes believed that European judicial
systems were unjust and irrational. Torture was still used as a means of
punishment, as it had been since the Middle Ages. In the Middle Ages,
people believed that accused criminals would tell the truth when
confronted with death, so that they could achieve salvation. Philosophes,
however, reasoned that accused criminals would confess simply to remove

the physical pain of torture, regardless of their guilt or innocence. .

An Italian economist and jurist, Cesare Beccaria,xv[lxxvii] was profoundly
moved by the injustice of judicial torture. He denounced torture as being
useless and evil, "the sure way to acquit robust criminals and convict
infirm innocents."xvi[lxxviii] In his book On Crime and Punishment,
published in 1764,xvii[lxxix] Beccaria explained that punishment should be
a deterrent to crime, not an act of vengeance, and the severity of the
punishment should fit the severity of the crime. In addition, Beccaria
believed that accused criminals should not be punished until proven guilty.
Education. The philosophes believed that education was an essential tool
for people to improve their lives and society as a whole. Under the
influence of the Enlightenment, many monarchs came to believe that
educating their subjects strengthened the state.
The Austrian empress Maria Theresa made primary education available for
all children in her realm in 1774.xviii[lxxx] In Germany too, basic education
was made more widely available, along with professional and vocational
training for civil servants, laborers, and artisans.xix[lxxxi] In countries with
absolute monarchies, however, education was strictly controlled. Free
thought was not encouraged; rather, students were trained to believe in the
absolutist state and to become better subjects. Moreover, education was not
required and literacy rates remained low.
Political and Economic Criticism
Philosophes of the 1700sxx[lxxxii] believed that in order to achieve a
rational society that functioned according to natural law, political and
economic institutions must themselves become more rational. They
believed, as Locke had in the 1600s, that people had certain natural rights
that they must never surrender. The philosophes believed that a ruler who
violated those rights had broken the social contract, and the people had the
right to find another ruler.
Montesquieu. Not all philosophes reached the same conclusions from
their belief in natural law. The Baron de Montesquieu,xxi[lxxxiii] believed
that government should be suited to the needs and circumstances of a
people. In 1748xxii[lxxxiv] he published The Spirit of Laws, in which he
defined his idea of perfect government:

Laws should be adapted to the people for whom they are framed,
in relation to the nature and principle of each government, to the
climate of each country, to the quality of its soil, to the principle

occupation of the natives, to the degree of liberty which the

constitution will bear, to the religion of the inhabitants, to their
inclinations, riches, numbers, commerce, manners, and
xxiii

customs.

[lxxxv]

After examining the great variety of governments, Montesquieu concluded

that the best form of government for Europeans included a separation of
powersin other words, the government should be divided so that no
single branch had enough power to dominate the others. Such a balance,
Montesqieu believed, would prevent the development of tyranny.
Rousseau. Jean-Jacques Rousseauxxiv[lxxxvi] differed from other
philosophes in that he believed that cultivating intellect at the expense of
emotion corrupted people. Rousseau wrote that "everything is good, as it
comes from the hands of God; everything degenerates [breaks down] in the
hands of man."xxv[lxxxvii] Rousseau believed that people began their lives
innocent and noble, but that the act of creating society ruined peoples
natural goodness. Rousseau also believed that people must reform society
so that conscience and emotion (instead of intellect) guided all actions.xxvi
[lxxxviii]
In The Social Contract, Rousseau wrote that a perfect society would be
composed of free citizens who formed a government by meeting face-toface. Individuals would determine what the common good was, and the
will of the people would become law. This idea of popular sovereignty, a
government created by and subject to the will of the people, would later
have enormous influence in the American Revolution.
Adam Smith.xxvii[lxxxix] In addition to addressing the problems of society
and politics, the philosophes also turned their attention to the economy.
They believed that the economy, like everything else in the universe,
functioned according to natural law and that any attempt to interfere with
these natural economic laws would bring certain disaster. In 1776xxviii[xc]
Adam Smith, a Scottish economist, best stated these ideas in The Wealth of
Nations.
Smith reasoned that two natural laws regulated all business and economic
activitythe law of supply and demand and the law of competition. In any
business, prices would be determined by the relationship of the supply of a
product to the demand for it. If an item were scarce and in great demand,
people would pay a high price for it. Thus profits from its sales would rise,
and more manufacturers would want to produce the scarce item. Soon the
supply of the item would exceed the demand for it. Prices would be driven
down as manufacturers competed for people to buy their products.

Smith believed in what became known as free enterprise, in which

every person should be free to go into any business and to operate it for
maximum profit. The result would benefit everyonelaborers would have
jobs, investors and owners would make profits, and buyers would receive
better goods at lower prices.
Many of Smith's ideas were a direct contradiction of the old
economic theory of mercantilism. Mercantilists believed that all nations
competed for a limited amount of wealth, which made restrictions and
regulations necessary to keep other nations from gaining an unfair amount
of the world's wealth. Smith believed that the world economy was selfregulating and should be allowed to function without regulation or other
outside interference. This belief was known as laissez-faire,xxix[xci]
meaning "let do" or leave things alone.
Women and the Enlightenment
Although most of the philosophes were men, women too participated in the
Enlightenment. In England, for example, Mary Wollstonecraft,xxx[xcii] an
author and early advocate of women's rights, believed that Enlightenment
ideals should be extended to women as well as men.
BIO Born in 1759,xxxi[xciii] Wollstonecraft became interested in
intellectual pursuits at an early age. While a schoolteacher, she was
appalled by the frivolity that was encouraged in young women of the elite.
She realized that women needed a sounder education to make them more
serious, charitable, and moral. Unlike most women of her time,
Wollstonecraft sought personal liberty and economic independence.xxxii
[xciv] She educated herself, and once she began earning money from
outside employment, she became the sole support of her family.xxxiii[xcv]
She first caused controversy with the 1792xxxiv[xcvi] publication of A
Vindication of the Rights of Woman. In it she expressed her belief that
women and men were created equalonly a poor education prevented
women from doing important work:

If they [women] be really capable of acting like rational

creatures, let them not be treated like slaves; but cultivate their
minds and let them attain conscious dignity by feeling themselves
xxxv

only dependent on God.

[xcvii]

Although Wollstonecrafts book was warmly regarded by some

philosophes in France, in Britain the conservative reaction was harsh.

Horace Walpole,xxxvi[xcviii] an aristocratic author, wrote that

Wollstonecraft was a hyena in petticoats, and Hannah More,xxxvii[xcix] an
English religious writer, believed that the title alone was so ridiculous that
she would not read the book.xxxviii[c]
In later writings, Wollstonecraft sharply criticized the conditions in which
womenparticularly poor womenhad to live. While traveling through
Scandinavia in the 1790s she observed "the men stand up for the dignity of
man, by oppressing the women."xxxix[ci] By this time, however, many
people turned away from her ideas, in part because of her lifestyle.
Defying convention, she chose to live with, but not marry, the father of her
first daughter. When he left her, she despaired so much that she attempted
suicide. After recovering from her despair, in 1797 she married the writer
William Godwin.xl[cii] She died days after giving birth to their daughter.
Unlike Mary Wollstonecraft, some writers saw the success of women in the
salons and believed that women were truly gaining in power and influence,
particularly in France. In 1795 the French general Napoleon
Bonapartexli[ciii] remarked, "Only here [in France], of all places on earth,
do women deserve to wield such influence."xlii[civ] The Scottish
philosopher David Humexliii[cv] observed that in France "the females enter
into all transactions and all management of church and state: and no man
can expect success, who takes not care to obtain their good graces."xliv[cvi]
However, most thinkers still believed that women should keep their
traditional roles of wife and mother. For example, Rousseau complained
that an educated woman "scorns every womanly duty, and she is always
trying to make a man of herself."xlv[cvii] In the Encyclopdie, there was no
mention of the salons at all, and articles about women concentrated on the
common misconceptions about women's physical weakness and emotional
sensitivity.xlvi[cviii]
Enlightened Despotism
The ultimate result that the philosophes sought was the restructuring of
European monarchies along Enlightenment principles in order to bring
society, politics, and the economy in line with natural law. Advocating
reform, not revolution, the philosophes generally supported a strong
monarchy. Many philosophes appealed directly to monarchs for change.
What they wanted was enlightened despotisma system of government
in which absolute monarchs ruled according to the principles of the
Enlightenment.
Many monarchs did accept some Enlightenment principlesat least those
that served their own purposes. Catherine the Great, for example, read the

works of Montesquieu and Beccaria, corresponded with Voltaire, and

persuaded Diderot to visit her court. In 1767xlvii[cix] she established a
legislative commission to codify Russia's laws. Representatives from all
classes but the serfs were allowed to voice their opinions. This was the first
time Russian subjects participated in central government; and it would be
the last time until the 1900s.xlviii[cx]
Catherine instructed the commissioners that "the Sovereign is absolute,"
but that the government should set less Bounds than others to natural
Liberty, and coincide with the Views and Purposes of rational
Creatures."xlix[cxi] Catherine soon became preoccupied with other things,
however, such as war with the Turks, the Partition of Poland, and a fierce
peasant revolt, Pugachevs Rebellion, which shifted her attention away
from enlightened reform.l[cxii] The rebellion in particular convinced
Catherine of the need to strengthen her authority. She imprisoned or exiled
Russian Enlightenment thinkers, ordered Russian students studying abroad
to return to Russia, and banned all French newspapers, which she believed
spread revolutionary ideas. Her reign, which began with the flowering of
Enlightenment culture, ended in repression and fear.li[cxiii]
Frederick II of Prussia was a somewhat more enlightened despot than
Catherine. Under the influence of Voltaire, Frederick undertook numerous
reforms. His reforms, however enlightened, were intended to strengthen
the state, for he believed that a strong state would benefit all of his
subjects. In 1774, while codifying Prussia's laws, Frederick abolished
torture as a punishment and declared religious toleration.lii[cxiv] He wrote
in 1777 that "the sovereign is attached by indissoluble [unbreakable] ties to
the body of the state; hence . . . he . . . is sensible of all the ills which afflict
his subjects."liii[cxv] Nevertheless, Frederick believed strongly in the
established system of class and privilege. liv[cxvi]
Perhaps the most enlightened monarch was Joseph IIlv[cxvii] of Austria. He
believed that the state was obligated to provide a moral example for its
subjects. He abolished serfdom and assumed responsibility for caring for
the poor and the sick.lvi[cxviii] Joseph also proclaimed religious toleration
for all Christians, Jews, and Muslims in the Austrian Empire, which meant
that people of all faiths could worship freely, hold property, be educated,
and have access to all professions.lvii[cxix] In 1787 he wrote:

[Religious] fanaticism shall in future be known in my states only

by the contempt I have for it; nobody shall any longer be exposed
to hardships on account of his creed; no man shall be compelled in
future to profess the religion of the state if it be contrary to his
lviii

persuasion.

[cxx]

Like all other enlightened despots, however, Joseph II's enlightened rule
had its limits. Revolts in his domains caused him to withdraw many of the
reforms he had instituted. In addition, Austria's poorly paid bureaucrats
were not eager to enforce the remaining reforms. Joseph lamented,
"Almost no one is animated by zeal for the good of the fatherland; there is
no one to carry out my ideas."lix[cxxi]
Section 2 Review
IDENTIFY and explain the significance of the following:
Voltaire
philosophes
rationalism
natural law
Montesquieu
salon
Mary Wollstonecraft
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
popular sovereignty
Adam Smith
free enterprise
laissez-faire
enlightened despotism
1.Main Idea What was the Enlightenment?
2. Main Idea How did the philosophes apply their conceptions of
human nature and natural law to criticize European political systems?
3. Politics What impact did Enlightenment ideas have on absolute
monarchs?
4. Synthesizing How did the Enlightenment affect European attitudes
toward society and politics? In answering this question, consider the
following: (a) how philosophes criticized European society and its

institutions; (b) how philosophes wanted to reform the political and the
economic structure; and (c) to what extent European monarchs
instituted reforms based on Enlightenment ideas.

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