Name: Nguyễn Thị Thanh Huyền

Troy ID: 1608120

Assignment 2 (ENG-2206): The Enlightenment in Europe and the Americas

1. General

1. When did the Enlightenment begin?

- The Enlightenment began in the late 17th century and continued into the 18th
century.

2. How did the people in the Enlightenment think of humans, God, and society?
- Human Reason: Enlightenment thinkers placed a strong emphasis on human
reason and rationality. They believed that human beings possessed the
capacity for rational thought and that reason should be the primary guide for
understanding the world.
- God and Religion: Many Enlightenment philosophers were deists, believing in
a distant, non-intervening God who had set natural laws in motion. They were
critical of religious dogma, and some advocated for religious tolerance and the
separation of church and state.
- Society and Government: Enlightenment thought often challenged existing
political and social hierarchies. Thinkers like John Locke and Jean-Jacques
Rousseau contributed to the development of social contract theory, which
proposed that governments should be based on the consent of the governed
and should protect individuals' natural rights to life, liberty, and property.

3. Write down some crucial keywords that describe the main characteristics of the
Enlightenment.
- Some crucial keywords that describe the main characteristics of the
Enlightenment, these keywords capture the essence of the Enlightenment,
which was an intellectual and philosophical movement that emerged in the
17th and 18th centuries, emphasizing reason, science, and the rights and
freedoms of individuals: Reason, Rationalism, Empiricism, Science,
Skepticism, Individualism, Secularism, Humanism, Progress, Liberty,
Equality, Democracy, Tolerance, Enlightenment Thinkers (e.g., Voltaire,
Locke, Rousseau), Freedom of Thought, Enlightenment Ideals, Enlightenment
Literature, Enlightenment Philosophy, Enlightenment Era, Critique of
Tradition, Separation of Church and State, Social Contract, Natural Rights,
Encyclopedias, Enlightenment Salons.

2. René Descartes’ The Discourse on Method

1. Summarize the main methods Descartes believes that he, and the people in
general, should do in solving problems.
(1) to never believe anything unless he can prove it himself;
(2) to reduce every problem to its simplest parts;
(3) to always be orderly in his thoughts and proceed from the simplest part to the
most difficult; and
(4) to always, when solving a problem, create a long chain of reasoning and
leave nothing out.
 -> Descartes immediately finds this method effective in solving problems that
he had found too difficult before.

2. What does Descartes discuss when he says, “I think, therefore I am”?

- This statement is at the heart of Descartes' philosophy. He argues that while
we can doubt everything, including the existence of the external world or even
the existence of God, we cannot doubt the existence of ourselves as thinking
beings. The very act of doubt thought, or consciousness itself proves our
existence. "I think, therefore I am" is a foundational point of certainty on
which he can build his philosophy.

3. Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond D’Alembert: The Encyclopédie

1. How do beasts differ from human beings according to the encyclopedists’
definition?
- According to the encyclopedists, the key distinction between beasts and
human beings lay in the faculty of reason. Beasts, in their view, lacked the
capacity for rational thought, and it was the reason that elevated humans above
animals. They saw humans as possessing the ability to think, reflect, and make
choices, which set them apart from the purely instinct-driven behavior of
animals.

2. Summarize in a paragraph of about 100 words the role of education in the

development of children according to the encyclopedists’ idea.
- The encyclopedists emphasized the role of education in the development of
children. They believed that education should focus on cultivating reason,
morality, and critical thinking. They advocated for an education that
encouraged intellectual and moral growth, emphasizing a child's capacity for
reason and the importance of nurturing it through proper instruction and
guidance.

3. Summarize the encyclopedists’ definition of political authority in a paragraph of

about 100 words.
- The Enlightenment ideas of reason, consent, and the social compact served as
the foundation for the encyclopedists' notion of political power. They held that
legitimate political power should be derived from the agreement of the
governed and exist to defend people's inalienable rights. Rather than being
unlimited or despotic in nature, political authority was considered a necessary
societal construct for upholding justice and order, and it should be held
responsible for those values.

4. Benjamin Franklin
Enumerate the jobs Franklin ever took and the inventions he did during his life.
1. The jobs Franklin ever took:
- started his adult life as a printer, moving to Philadelphia- went on to become a
successful businessman, inventor, scientist, writer, musician, diplomat, and signatory
to the Declaration of Independence and the United States Consitution.

2. His inventions:
 - swimming fins, bifocal glasses, discovered new sources of electricity, improved
libraries, hospitals, insurance companies, and volunteer fire departments.

5. Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels

* In chapter 1 of part IV
1. Who are Gulliver’s companions in his journey this time? What is the main
purpose of his journey this time? How do his sailors treat him
- Gulliver sets out on his fourth adventure, this time with a bunch of
Houyhnhnms, a species of logical and clever horses. He is traveling mostly to
investigate and learn about their civilization. The sailors treat Gulliver with
disdain and contempt during the voyage because of the unusual appearance of
his new companions, and they are particularly horrified by Gulliver's
descriptions of the Houyhnhnms.

2. What does Gulliver do when he is left on the island? What are the characteristics
of the island? What creatures does he encounter on the island? What are their
features?
- When Gulliver is left on the island, he discovers that it is inhabited by two
primary species: the Houyhnhnms and the Yahoos. The Yahoos are nasty,
primitive, and disgusting humanoid creatures, whereas the Houyhnhnms are
very sensible and clever horses that coexist in peace. The Yahoos are
distinguished by their brutish and barbaric conduct, whereas the Houyhnhnms
are distinguished by their rationality, goodness, and peaceful cooperation.

3. What is the horses’ attitude to Gulliver when he encounters them? What does he
think about them?
- When Gulliver first encounters the Houyhnhnms, they are curious about him
but also cautious. They treat him with kindness and hospitality, primarily
because of his association with his fellow Houyhnhnms, but they are
perplexed by his Yahoos-like appearance. Gulliver is deeply impressed by the
Houyhnhnms and admires their rationality and virtue.

* In chapter 2 of part IV
1. Why does Gulliver bring some toys together in his journey?
- Gulliver brings toys with him to the Houyhnhnms' land to demonstrate the
state of civilization in his home country to them.

2. When entering the building, which is the horses’ house, what does Gulliver think
of when he sees the hosts? Who else does he see in addition to the hosts? What is
the relationship between these creatures to the hosts?
- Upon entering the Houyhnhnms' building, Gulliver sees the hosts, the horses
themselves, and is struck by their grace, order, and intellect. He also notices
several Yahoos, who serve the Houyhnhnms as laborers and are kept at a
distance due to their repulsive and uncivilized nature.

3. What is the food the Yahoos eat?

- The Yahoos on the island eat a diet consisting mainly of raw roots and animals
they catch.

4. How does Gulliver finally find food for him? What are those kinds of food?
 - Gulliver initially struggles to find suitable food on the island. However, he
eventually discovers that the island is abundant in various fruits, nuts, and a
type of small root vegetable, which he learns to eat to sustain himself. These
newfound foods became a crucial part of his diet during his stay among the
Houyhnhnms.

Writing
Find out 3 journal articles that discuss certain themes in Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels.
Then, put them in a list of APA format.

Note: they must be journal articles.

1. Patey, D. L. (1991). Swift’s Satire on “Science” and the Structure of Gulliver’s

Travels. ELH, 58(4), 809–839. https://doi.org/10.2307/2873283

2. Houston, C. (2007). Utopia, Dystopia or Anti-utopia? Gulliver’s Travels and the

Utopian Mode of Discourse. Utopian Studies, 18(3), 425–442.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/20719885

3. Brady, F. (1978). Vexations and Diversions: Three Problems in “Gulliver’s Travels.”

Modern Philology, 75(4), 346–367. http://www.jstor.org/stable/437482

4. Sim, S. (2008). Gulliver’s Travels, Multiculturalism and Cultural Difference. In The

Eighteenth-Century Novel and Contemporary Social Issues: An Introduction (pp. 35–
49). Edinburgh University Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3366/j.ctt1g0b3mt.7

5. Wilding, M. (1973). The Politics of Gulliver’s Travels. In R. F. Brissenden (Ed.),

Studies in the Eighteenth Century II (pp. 303–322). University of Toronto Press.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3138/j.ctt15jvxcq.23