American Enlightenment

Modern or sociological thinking first appeared in the mid 1600’s to mid-1700. The age of enlightenment refers to the period during which an intellectual movement spread throughout most of the western world. Previously society was dominated by religious doctrine and superstition. The feudal system and divine right to rule was largely unquestioned in society. Rene Descartes published Meditations in 1641 and introduced the "Method of Doubt" in which the concept of God was finally met with…

The works Candide, The Narrow Road to the Deep North, and The French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen demonstrate a growing belief in the power of writing to change the world. All texts, through writing and power of language, recommend a more peaceful world. In Basho’s The Narrow Road to the Deep North peace comes from appreciating nature and accepting inner spirituality; to make the world more peaceful, one must appreciate nature. France’s National Assembly’s Declaration of…

von Anhalt- Zerbst became the portrait of Russian enlightenment and subsequently immortalized in Russian history as Catherine the Great. Following a coup and the murder of her husband Peter III, Catherine reigned as empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. Her reign was simultaneously supported by the enlightenment era whose ideas began to spread throughout Europe. Supported by philosophes like John Locke, Montesquieu and Voltaire, the enlightenment era contested previous perceptions of the…

The Enlightenment period of the 1700s began the discussion of what a modern society needed become in order for society to evolve from a feudal construct. Many philosophes and individuals contributed to the Enlightenment, including Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Montesquieu, Adam Smith and Voltaire. These people wrote profound concepts that influenced other common people to act upon them to positively change society. These individuals included the French Revolutionists who propelled the French…

influenced by societies like Europe. In Sanshirō: a Novel by Natsume Sōseki, Japan became influenced by Europe’s ideas of individuality and humanism. The people in Meiji Japan believed and accepted to a great extend the European narrative of the Enlightenment of humanism, people being seen as a human who determine their own destiny, individuality, which meant people do what is in their self-interest, people were logical and rational to do things that benefited them, and innovation of new…

plans arranged for him, though he did not wed his wife until he turned 16, and she 14. Before, during, and after the American Revolution, Lafayette was known to the French Monarchy. He was actually made fun of by Marie Antoinette, who he later saved, for his awful dance moves. However, you can’t blame him. He was raised in the ‘country’. When he returned from the American Revolution he asked for the help of fellow revolutionary Thomas Jefferson to write the Declaration of the Rights of Man…

The Enlightenment period, which stretched from the mid 17th to early 19th centuries, brought about a new and more advanced society through the radical change in common perceptions. Europeans began to question the reliability of the morals and ideas they have always accepted, and decided to make great attempts in diminishing ignorance and, instead, rationalize the problems present in society. Mary Shelly had written Frankenstein during the end of the Enlightenment era, and was inspired to…

There has been great debate over the difference between the surrealist and the avant-garde, and whether or not they are simply different branches of the same movement, that surrealism is just a romanticised extension of the avant-garde. André Breton, the movement’s considered leader, regarded surrealism as a belief in superior forms of reality in his 1924 Surrealist Manifesto, and irrespective of more contemporary arguments over the exact definition or difference, was above all explicit in his…

frustrated by the large amount of taxes and also that their voice was not being heard in government. In the beginning of the Revolution, many changes were made based on enlightenment ideals. However, toward the end of the Revolution in 1794, these enlightenment ideals were twisted by Robespierre. Although an effort was made to use enlightenment ideas, it was eventually unsuccessful when the Revolution turned more radical. In the earliest stage of the Revolution, equality and fairness were…

ELABORATION French revolution The French Revolution occured in France while Napoleon was in Corsica. The people took over the country by revolting against the Franch king and took control of the country. The royal family and many aristocrats were killed. When Napoleon returned, he allid himself with revolutionaries gropu called the Jacobins. He received a position as the artillery commander at the Siege of Toulon in 1793. The city of Toulon was occupied by British troops and the British navy had…