Discussion question for Honors section, 10/18
In class, we will chiefly be discussing what class members argued in their papers (due this week) and what evidence they used to substantiate their arguments. However, you should also be reading about the Enlightenment, starting with Isaac Kramnick's introduction and Kant's "What is Enlightenment?" Then answer this question in this space: The Enlightenment used to be considered as the beginning of modern thought and its principles the foundation on which modern society (especially the university) is built. Does this still seem true from the perspective of 2007? Do Enlightenment principles still hold sway, or are we living in a post-Enlightenment world? Examples drawn from the Internet will be welcome as evidence for your answer.
posted by Jeff Pasley at 11:24 AM
6 Comments:
We are currently living in a post-Enlightenment world. The Enlightenment was a powerful time in history, a time when many institutions of superstition were superseded by institutions of reason and rational thought. This was very beneficial. However, some of the institutions that we have struggled with over the past two centuries (eg feminism, homophobia, slavery, etc.) were also transformed from institutions of superstition to institutions of reason and rational thought. This has been something we have been foced to struggle with.
The Enlightenment moved the thought in the world forward, but there were some aspects of it that moved our thought backwards. The Enlightenment brought us 3 steps forward and two steps back. I'm being called to set, so I will continue this post at a later time. Feel free to respond to me and we can have a little electronic discussion.
I very much agree with Curtis. While the Enlightenment was beneficial to institute progress towards a rational, reasonable society; today our society has moved beyond that point to dealing with issues the Enlightenment thinking did not address. For example, using Curtis' thoughts, the Civil Rights movement is very much a post-Enlightenment idea. The Enlightenment was very much focused on white, upper to middle class males. Women and people of color were subjugated to the ideals of patriarchy, even with the great social strides made by the Enlightenment. That is not to say, however, that our world is not under the influence of patriarchy. We still very much live in a male dominated world where equality in the workplace and socially has been much improved, but is still not true equality. That said, I think the Enlightenment was an integral part of our history, and certainly a step forward to where we are today, but circumstances and thoughts have changed so that we currently live in a post-Enlightenment world.
I will now offer a counter example to my previous argument. Please see page 28, last paragraph, and page 29, 1st paragraph. Race was something that was clearly seen as an issue. I promise, the reading is very much worth it. Especially the 1st paragraph on page 29 -- it is exceptionally powerful.
Next point. Move to Ben Franklin's letter to Joseph Priestley. In that letter he concisely outlines the goal of all Enlightenment thought -- furthering the comforts of humanity. That is something we are constantly doing, and in that respect we live in an Enlightenment world. Specifically, he talks about having agriculture work and doubling production. He would have no way of envisioning the orders of magnitude above that which we have already attained. He would see it, consider it magic, and then calmly dissect it until he understood exactly how it was done. The desire to ease humanity's journey is still one of the overriding concerns of humanity.
Why, then, do we live in a post-Enlightenment world? We have digressed. At issue, radical religious sects. While they can't control the government like they did pre-Enlightenment, they can still be as destructive. Point: religiously motivated terrorist acts. Point: "intelligent design". Point: New York State Appellate Court, in a decision against gay marriage, decides that 2 people of the same sex don't raise babies as well as a couple of both sexes. Point: Evolution teaching laws is Kansas, and other states. Open for discussion. Please, someone disagree. Look forward to it!
When one looks at history, there is an obvious trend in levels of intelligent thinking. The levels of intelligent thinking increase and decline repeatedly, and the Enlightenment is an example of one such increase in intelligent thought. With such increases in intellect, there usually comes greater human rights. I think that it is very fair to say that the Enlightenment is the beginning of modern thought. To me, the enlightenment was the beginning of rights for the common man on a larger scale. But although there was an expansion of rights, not everyone had the same rights and priviledges, like women example. In this post-Enlightenment time today, we are still struggling with such inequalities, we they legal or just a social norm, in regards to homosexuals, women, and minorities of certain races. The Enlightenment brought about a new wave of thinking, one that has changed our education system. However, these priviledges were primarily for white men of greater status. Obviously, the style of government during the Enlightenment (a government with more interaction from the people being governed) is another aspect of enlightened thinking that we still hold onto today.
We are definitely living in a post-Enlightenment world. Enlightenment involved mankind breaking free of restricting superstition. Now, we live in an era of social reform. Slowly, we are coming to accept the 'oddities' of humanity (the mentally ill, homosexuals, ect.). Also, this post-Enlightenment Age can be seen in the continuing process of globalization. All over the world, barriers are coming down, especially the intellectual and economic variety. If we were still in the Enlightenment era, struggling to break down barriers of superstition, such a thing could never have happened.
How are any of these ideas post-Enlightenment ideas? It seems to me that the ideas that were mentioned are strictly extensions on enlightenment themes. The real bastion of Enlightenment thought was the scientific reasoning that was required out of all institutions. That scientific thought and reasoning still exists in today's society. It is, in fact, one of the bastions that we still hold near and dear. How is that different than the Enlightenment.
Also, not all Enlightenment thinkers believed in a greater involvement of the people in government, especially the general populace. How do they mesh with Enlightenment thought? How are they different than the rest of the Enlightenment? How are they different and how are they the same as us?
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