Discovering

The Age of Enlightenment

Jam Palma Gil
The Age of
• What is the Age of
E n l i Enlightenment
ghtenment
• The Early
Enlightenment
• The High
Enlightenment
• The Late
 The Age of
Enlightenment
 • The great ‘Age of Reason’- is defined as the period of
rigorous scientific, political and philosophical discourse
that characterized European society during the long 18 th

century.
• The changes that came about were part of a movement
called the Age of Reason, or simply the Enlightenment.

• A European social and intellectual

movement during the 17 and 18 centuries
th th

driven by a mindset that favored science and

reason over religious beliefs.
• The Enlightenment produced numerous books, essays,
inventions, scientific discoveries, laws and even wars.

• The American and French revolutions were directly

inspired by Enlightenment ideals. These events marked
the peak of the Enlightenment’s influence and the
beginning of its end.
 The Early
Enlightenment
1685-1730
• The Enlightenment’s roots are usually traced to 1680s
England. Isaac Newton’s “Principia Mathematica” (1686)
and John Locke’s “Essay Concerning Human
Understanding” (1689) provided the
.
scientific,
mathematical and philosophical toolkit for the
Enlightenment’s major advances.
• Newton advanced important theories in math and optics-
the science of light and seeing were considered powerful
Enlightenment metaphors for measuring change and
illuminating what was used to be unknown.
 The High
Enlightenment
1730-1780
 • Centered on the dialogues and
publications of the French “philosophes”
such as Voltaire, Rousseau, Montesquieu,
Buffon and Denis Diderot.
• The signature publication of the period
was Diderot’s “Encyclopedie” (1751-77).
• This phase is also an age of enlightened
despots, or rulers who hold absolute
power. One of the most famous was the
King Frederick the Great, who unified and
modernized Prussia in between brutal
wars with Austria.
• This was also a time of change with
respect to religious ideas wherein
Christians sought to explain their faith
according to reason.
• Secret societies such as the Freemason,
the Bavarian, Illuminati and the
Rosicrusians, flourished.
 The late
Enlightenment and
beyond:
1780-1815
 • The great ‘Age of Reason’- is defined as the period of
• The French Revolution of 1789 was the peak
rigorous scientific, political and philosophical discourse
of the High Enlightenment.
that characterized European society during the long 18 th
• The leaders of the Revolution followed
century.
Enlightenment ideals, and they wanted to
•throw
Theout
changes that came about were part
old authorities in order to set up aof a movement
called
society the Age
based of Reason, or simply the Enlightenment.
on reason.
• It influenced the early feminist Mary
• A European social and intellectual
Wollstonecraft, who argued for equality
th of men th
movement
and women.
during the 17 and 18 centuries
driven by a mindset that favored
• The Enlightenment inspired the Haitian war of
science and
reason over religious
independence against France.
beliefs.
 The influence of Age of
Enlightenment in the Literature
• Literature during this period was often considered a
tool for the advancement of knowledge.
• Writers were often found observing nature in their attempts
to express their beliefs.
• Satire was the most popular literary tool that was utilized
.
by writers of the time.
• Writers were able to educate the public through literature.
• Its function was to acknowledge a problem in society and
attempt to reform the problem in a comical manner while
still educating the public.
• Playwrights of the time were also known to incorporate
satire in their plays.
• Satire was a highly successful literary tool that worked to
promote social awareness through literature, the theater and
periodical of the time.
• It is more accurate to say that the 18th century was marked
by two main impulses: reason and passion. .
• The respect paid to reason was shown in pursuit of order,
symmetry, decorum, and scientific knowledge; the
cultivation of the feelings stimulated philanthropy,
exaltation of personal relationships, religious fervor, and the
cult of sentiment, or sensibility.
• In literature the rational impulse fostered satire, argument,
wit, plain prose; the other inspired the psychological novel
and the poetry of the sublime.
 References
Lumen Candela, (2007, May 24). “3.9. Age of Enlightenment
influences on Literature.”
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-fmcc-hum140/chapter/
3-10-age-of-enlightenment-literature/

Studysmarter, (2017, March 4). “Age of Enlightenment”

https://www.studysmarter.co.uk/explanations/english-lite
rature/literary-movements/age-of-enlightenment
Thank You
for
listening!