The High Enlightenment I
Jurian Traas
FW -HID1019
2021 – 2022
,Inhoudsopgave
Lecture I – The French Enlightenment: D’Holbach...........................................................................................3
Indicators of a changing climate in France..........................................................................................................3
The spread of materialism...................................................................................................................................3
D’Holbach and the culture of sensibility .............................................................................................................5
Lecture II – The French Enlightenment: Rousseau........................................................................................... 6
Lecture III: The German Enlightenment: Germany’s cultural emancipation.....................................................8
Pantheismusstreit...............................................................................................................................................10
Lecture IV: The German Enlightenment: The height of the German Enlightenment.......................................10
Lecture V: The French Revolution & The Counter-enlightenment .................................................................12
Causes of the enlightenment.............................................................................................................................12
First phase: The National Assembly...................................................................................................................12
Second phase: The National Convention............................................................................................................13
Third phase: The French Directory.....................................................................................................................13
Products of the enlightenment...........................................................................................................................14
Lecture VI: The Counter Enlightenment continued .......................................................................................14
Lecture VII: Critics of the Enlightenment....................................................................................................... 16
Lecture VIII: Enlightenment history and current debates..............................................................................18
2
, Lecture I – The French Enlightenment: D’Holbach
Definition of the enlightenment
“A social and cultural movement that during the final quarter of the 18th century suddenly
gained a political edge, helping revolutionaries justify and understand their actions.”
Most experts agree there is a distinction between the early and the high enlightenment made
somewhere around the 1750’s. There are indications such as Voltaire’s career, which show
that the early moderation is lost at some point in place of some aggressive attacks on the
established norm.
Indicators of a changing climate in France
Censorship
French censorship also shows itself to come into trouble when the first encyclopedia arrives,
which was oftentimes fiercely critical of the church. Moreover, we see the development into
the high enlightenment when LaMettrie publishes the first major materialist (read: atheist)
work in L’Homme Machine. Of course, such works were all controversial and could therefore
only be distributed clandestinely.
King Louis XV
Louis XV was once referred to as the much beloved, but starts to lose his credibility due to
two major reasons:
1. He is blundering in foreign policies and diplomacy, despite winning battles.
2. He is unable to reform French taxation policies, which drives France even closer to
bankruptcy. The nobility and the church did not pay taxes, which was a crucial role in
the frustration in the general population that eventually led to the French revolution.
Problems within the Church
The French catholic church was wrecked by internal disputes which took away its authority,
which they previously claimed from being ‘Rome’s eldest daughter’. The church splits into
several factions, most important of which are the Jesuits and the Jansenists. These factions
differ so significantly ideologically that they accuse one another even of atheism.
The spread of materialism
On a philosophical level, these changes are underpinned one the one side by the development
of anti-religious, anti-metaphysical natural philosophy and materialism. On the other hand, a
potentially dangerous political philosophy emerged. Paul Henry Thiry baron d’Holbach was a
chief proponent of the former materialist view on nature.
Materialism tells us two things. Firstly, the metaphysical claim that reality consists of matter
only. Secondly, the epistemological claim that the supposition of matter is all we need to
account for the existence of reality, meaning that we do not need to assume that there is
something besides matter.
Materialism was at the time already an ancient view, particularly found in Epicurus.
Lucretius further propagated these views in roman times (first century B.C.). His “De Rerum
Natura” was at the time already controversial through in part due to its claim that the purpose
of life is the search of pleasure (as opposed to the cultivation of virtues). Now that happiness
has become the true object of philosophy, Lucretius argues that fears stand in the way of this,
and thus need to be eliminated. Lucretius states we fear two things:
3
Jurian Traas
FW -HID1019
2021 – 2022
,Inhoudsopgave
Lecture I – The French Enlightenment: D’Holbach...........................................................................................3
Indicators of a changing climate in France..........................................................................................................3
The spread of materialism...................................................................................................................................3
D’Holbach and the culture of sensibility .............................................................................................................5
Lecture II – The French Enlightenment: Rousseau........................................................................................... 6
Lecture III: The German Enlightenment: Germany’s cultural emancipation.....................................................8
Pantheismusstreit...............................................................................................................................................10
Lecture IV: The German Enlightenment: The height of the German Enlightenment.......................................10
Lecture V: The French Revolution & The Counter-enlightenment .................................................................12
Causes of the enlightenment.............................................................................................................................12
First phase: The National Assembly...................................................................................................................12
Second phase: The National Convention............................................................................................................13
Third phase: The French Directory.....................................................................................................................13
Products of the enlightenment...........................................................................................................................14
Lecture VI: The Counter Enlightenment continued .......................................................................................14
Lecture VII: Critics of the Enlightenment....................................................................................................... 16
Lecture VIII: Enlightenment history and current debates..............................................................................18
2
, Lecture I – The French Enlightenment: D’Holbach
Definition of the enlightenment
“A social and cultural movement that during the final quarter of the 18th century suddenly
gained a political edge, helping revolutionaries justify and understand their actions.”
Most experts agree there is a distinction between the early and the high enlightenment made
somewhere around the 1750’s. There are indications such as Voltaire’s career, which show
that the early moderation is lost at some point in place of some aggressive attacks on the
established norm.
Indicators of a changing climate in France
Censorship
French censorship also shows itself to come into trouble when the first encyclopedia arrives,
which was oftentimes fiercely critical of the church. Moreover, we see the development into
the high enlightenment when LaMettrie publishes the first major materialist (read: atheist)
work in L’Homme Machine. Of course, such works were all controversial and could therefore
only be distributed clandestinely.
King Louis XV
Louis XV was once referred to as the much beloved, but starts to lose his credibility due to
two major reasons:
1. He is blundering in foreign policies and diplomacy, despite winning battles.
2. He is unable to reform French taxation policies, which drives France even closer to
bankruptcy. The nobility and the church did not pay taxes, which was a crucial role in
the frustration in the general population that eventually led to the French revolution.
Problems within the Church
The French catholic church was wrecked by internal disputes which took away its authority,
which they previously claimed from being ‘Rome’s eldest daughter’. The church splits into
several factions, most important of which are the Jesuits and the Jansenists. These factions
differ so significantly ideologically that they accuse one another even of atheism.
The spread of materialism
On a philosophical level, these changes are underpinned one the one side by the development
of anti-religious, anti-metaphysical natural philosophy and materialism. On the other hand, a
potentially dangerous political philosophy emerged. Paul Henry Thiry baron d’Holbach was a
chief proponent of the former materialist view on nature.
Materialism tells us two things. Firstly, the metaphysical claim that reality consists of matter
only. Secondly, the epistemological claim that the supposition of matter is all we need to
account for the existence of reality, meaning that we do not need to assume that there is
something besides matter.
Materialism was at the time already an ancient view, particularly found in Epicurus.
Lucretius further propagated these views in roman times (first century B.C.). His “De Rerum
Natura” was at the time already controversial through in part due to its claim that the purpose
of life is the search of pleasure (as opposed to the cultivation of virtues). Now that happiness
has become the true object of philosophy, Lucretius argues that fears stand in the way of this,
and thus need to be eliminated. Lucretius states we fear two things:
3
