Dialectic of Enlightenment

The Enlightenment, the proliferation of rational ideas throughout the 18th Century, has a dualistic political legacy. The paradoxes it produced were liberalism - emphasising political freedom and representation - and authoritarianism, imperialism and independence. Religion, instead of being displaced by reason, remained to influence and reflect the Enlightenment’s political legacies. Kant may stress “Enlightenment is man’s emergence from his self-imposed nonage” from Christianity but…

Jean Baudrillard: Postmodernism 1] Historical Context Postmodern theory emerged at the end of the enlightenment period in Europe. The roots of postmodern theory are within the switch from traditional societies where magic and religion were the main sources of explanation for social phenomena to a new meta-narrative which was, science and ration thought. Meta-narratives are beliefs that offer people hope and guidance they are the “big story” and it represents an explanation for everything. A key…

In Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, Swift portrays the differences of state religions as a comedic spectacle, directly contrary to his personal viewpoints in favor of a state religion. In Louis XIV’s Versailles, religion, specifically Catholicism, was intertwined into the French government. As an absolutist king, Louis controlled the entire state of France and ensured all of France was Catholic. At Versailles, Louis displayed his power over France through religion. Both Swift and Louis XIV…

romanticism is not about love and romance; it is about all the emotions and feelings a person feels throughout his or her whole life. People used it as a way of escapism from their tough lives. Romanticism was a reaction against the Enlightenment. While the Enlightenment thinkers valued reason and logic, the Romantics valued emotion and intuition. Some of the major features of Romanticism are nature, imagination, spontaneity, and the individual. There are many poets of the Romantic Era and John…

Squealer Speech Analysis The book Animal Farm is an allegory novel written by George Orwell on August 17th, 1945. The book depicts the events leading up to the Russian Revolution and the era of the Stalinist Soviet Union. The characters in this novel try to form a sustainable democracy/society in which animals can live a peaceful life without the threat of human beings. The main leaders who take action in this book are Napoleon and Snowball who are both pigs. Another character Squealer (who…

Bolstered by the growing dissent of autocracy and conservatism and the rise of liberalism, nationalism, and socialism, the 1848 Revolutions caused numerous uprisings and ideal shifts in Europe. Throughout France, as well as Italy, Germany, the Austrian Empire, riots and progressive governmental changes -- universal suffrage, freedom of the press, and cultural recognition -- succeeded momentarily but were soon crushed by conservative opponents, leaving behind little difference and cynicism. The…

NOVA’s “the Fabric of the Cosmos: Quantum Leap” with Brian Greene “Quantum Leap” not only explores how much the quantum atom has changed our view of the rules that govern our universe, but also how much is has, or will, benefit society. How did science arrive at the quantum atom, and what benefit did (or will) we gain from each of the developments that led us to the quantum atom? After the analytical evidence was gathered by Sir Joseph John Thomson from the scientists before him to create the…

Stoicism To counter stoicism, the play presents itself first as a stoic world. Frye indicates in his essay that Albany and Edgar stands for the moralist (111); and Moretti in “Great Eclipse” argues that King Lear is in-between an old feudalist society and a new absolutist society. However, these characters does not stand for a vague, universal ethics; and feudalism, as a political concept, must have a reciprocal relationship with cultural doctrine as to integrate the social and the political. I…

The viewpoints of both Thomas Paine and Che Guevara had some common principles. Both men left their own countries to join in Revolutions in other countries. Paine left Britain to join the French Revolution as well as take part in the United States Revolution. Likewise, Guevara left Argentina, to join the Cuban Revolution. Both Revolutionists wanted to overthrow systems of government to transform the type of government, however, they had different views on the governmental changes to take place…

An Analysis In all of human history, no period has been as transformative in terms of political, economic, and social thought than the tumultuous 18th century. During this time, the Frenchman François-Marie Arouet, known commonly by his pen name of ‘Voltaire’, wrote “Candide”. This satirical commentary on the state of affairs around the globe and within France itself has continued to incite debate and discussion on its true nature up to the present day. Two such viewpoints, outlined in “Jews…