The Scientific Revolution of the eighteenth century ushered in a new era of empirical thinking. Descartes’s discovery that sense experiences are more like innate ideas than objects of sensation established an epistemological foundation for Enlightenment philosophy.
Kant defines Enlightenment as man’s emergence from his self-incurred immaturity, awakening his intellectual powers and daring to use them without the guidance of another. Such freedom inevitably pits Enlightenment thinking against established religion.
Freedom of Thought
The aspiration to intellectual progress and the belief that this could improve human society were central to Enlightenment philosophy. This influenced ordinary people as well as philosophers, government ministers and heads of state. Hobbes, Locke, Hume, Diderot and Spinoza all encouraged a more rational, less superstitious approach to religion. Although it is often assumed that Enlightenment Enlightenment thinkers were at war with religion, this is overstated. Enlightenment criticism of religion tends to be critical of specific features such as fanaticism, enthusiasm and superstition rather than opposition to religion per se.
The emphasis on skepticism - exemplified in Pierre Bayle's Historical and Critical Dictionary - was another characteristic feature of the Enlightenment. This skepticism was not, however, anti-metaphysical. Indeed, John Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690) is a key text of the Enlightenment because it establishes an epistemological pattern that is at least implicitly anti-metaphysical. Locke argued that knowledge comes through our senses and not from any innate ideas.
Science
In the seventeenth century, science is progressively separated from the presuppositions and doctrines of theology; in the eighteenth century it is also progressively separated from metaphysics. Newton’s success in subsuming all phenomena under universal laws of motion bolsters the confidence that natural science can succeed independently from a priori, clear and certain first principles. As a result, skeptical doubt plays an instrumental role in Enlightenment philosophy, especially when engaged in foundational philosophical research, as in Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy or David Hume’s Enquiries Concerning Human Understanding.
While there are significant Enlightenment thinkers who are metaphysicians - such as Christian Wolff – the overall thrust of Enlightenment thought is anti-metaphysical. Nevertheless, controversies about religious belief (and, in particular, the truth-value or reasonableness of religious beliefs) play an important role throughout the period. This critical, suspicious attitude is generally directed against a variety of contingent features of religion such as superstition, enthusiasm, fanaticism and supernaturalism rather than against religion per se.
Equality
Generally, philosophers of the Enlightenment were committed to the political ideals of liberty and equality. They argued against hierarchical polities, royal privileges and religious authority. They also defended religious freedom and political toleration. They favored the rational study of man and opposed the idea of divine ordination.
Skepticism, the method of doubt and suspicion of traditional dogmas, was a hallmark of Enlightenment thinking. This attitude was embodied in the works of Pierre Bayle, Rene Descartes and others.
While many Enlightenment philosophers were metaphysicians, a great number of them (such as Spinoza) built on a rationalist naturalism that led to the denial of a god. Nevertheless, the philosophical ideals of the Enlightenment, in the form of liberalism and Spinoza’s rationalism, were not without their opponents. Voltaire, for example, was an outspoken critic of religion. But he was critical of specific features of religion, such as superstition, fanaticism and enthusiasm – not of religion in general. Moreover, his signature sign-off was “Crush the infame” rather than “Ecrasez le divin”. This shows that his attack was less on religion per se than on its contrived features.
Democracy
The democratic spirit is a common feature of the Enlightenment. It is often manifested in a critical, skeptical attitude toward traditional dogmas, especially religious ones. Rene Descartes's rationalist system of philosophy, in its emphasis on doubting all propositions that cannot be confirmed as true, exemplifies this skeptical attitude. It is also embodied in Pierre Bayle's method of determining probability, and in the metaphysical doctrines of Baruch Spinoza.
It is natural that the Enlightenment should aspire to universal truth, unattached to any particular time, place or culture. Yet it is equally important to recognize that Enlightenment philosophies are often rife with rank ethno- and Eurocentrism.
The most democratic of the Enlightenment writers, Rousseau, focuses on the role of the state in guaranteeing human rights. His view of the social contract contrasts with the Lockean liberal model. It is not clear, however, how political ideals like freedom and equality find a home in the natural law as Enlightenment science re-conceives it.
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