“Enlightenment is man’s emergence from his self-incurred immaturity. Immaturity is the
inability to use one’s own understanding without the guidance of another.”
Immanuel Kant "What is Enlightenment" 1784 (online text)
Course II: The Enlightenment: The Origins of
the Modern Political World
the Modern Political World
Course Description:
Explore the thought of a dozen major 18th century Enlightenment philosophers whose ideas on republican government, natural law, universal human rights, separation of church and state, reason-based ethics, modern economics and more shaped the world we live in today. Understand what influenced them and how they inspired the 75 year Age of Revolution that began with the American Revolution in 1775 and included the tumultuous French Revolution of 1789. Also learn of their aspirations for a "cosmopolitan" world of international cooperation that anticipated many contemporary organizations including the United Nations, the International Court of Justice, and the International Red Cross.
Course Syllabus:
Session 1: Course Introduction - Overview of the Enlightenment - Chapter 2: "Bringing Pity Back In"
Session 2: Read Chapter 3: "The Fatherless World" 53 pages
Talk: Voltaire / Denis Diderot
Session 3: Read Chapter 4: "The Science of Man" 51 pages
Talk: David Hume's Social Theory / Adam Smith
Session 4: Read Chapter 5: "Discovering Man in Nature" 43 pages
Talk: Montesquieu and the U.S. Founders
Session 5: Read Chapter 6: "The Defense of Civilization" 50 pages
Talk: Jean-Jacques Rousseau / The Encyclopédie
Session 6: Read Chapter 7: "The Great Society of Mankind" 36 pages
Talk: The Reformers: Bentham, Baccaria, and Vattel
Session 7: Read Chapter 8: "The Vast Commonwealth of Nature" 44 pages
Talk: The American and French Revolutions
Session 8: Read: Chapter 9: "The Enlightenment and its Enemies" (p. 374 - 408)
Talk: Class choice (an exercise in democracy)
Optional talks
Claude Adrien Helvétius and Baron d'Holbach
"Enlightened Absolutists"
