Enlightenment Period Essays (Examples)

Marx set the anti-religious tone of twentieth century political ideologies, in particular, anti-Semitism. Defenders of Marx will take scholars to task who question Marx on alleged anti-Semitism, claiming that the critics are quoting Marx out of context. Whether or not Marx is or was anti-Semitic (which this author is maintaining is the case), he was perceived so in his time and his writings were used by later Soviet regimes to help justify its anti-Jewish and anti-Israel actions as this author will demonstrate below.

It is ironic that a heretical Jew and a descendent of rabbis should have provided such powerful ammunition to anti-Semitism. The reason for his may be grounded in his Jewish background itself. Dr. Tzvi Marks of the Boston University Institute of Law concludes that Jewish law is characterized by dialectical tendencies (Marx 235). Marx, grandson of a Jewish rabbi and a Jewish attorney father was steeped in…

17th century and our contemporary world began with an early, optimistic outlook of hope and promise of a better future, exemplified by movements like the Enlightenment, the Scientific and Industrial Revolutions, culminating in the Information Age, environmental awareness and globalisation. It is during this period that a paradigm shift from faith (religion) to reason as the principal source of legitimacy and authority occurred (Badger). The shift occurred against the backdrop of ideals such as science, tolerance, liberty, democracy, secularism, free will and humanism. However, the period is also scared with false starts and failures, violent schisms, world wars, imperialism, terrorism, irrational nationalism, extreme religious war, information overload, pollution and the threat of nuclear annihilation that indicate failure of the rational model promised by the Enlightenment. On the premise of this dichotomy of hope and failure, this essay critically demonstrates the failure of the Enlightenment project, especially from a social and…

Enlightenment-era, Neo-Classical works with Romantic overtones 'Tartuffe," Candide, and Frankenstein all use unnatural forms of character representation to question the common conceptions of what is natural and of human and environmental 'nature.' Moliere uses highly artificial ways of representing characters in dramatic forms to show the unnatural nature of an older man becoming attracted to a younger woman. Voltaire uses unnatural and absurd situations to question the unnatural belief of Professor Pangloss that this is the best of all possible worlds. Mary Shelley creates a fantastic or unnatural scenario to show the unnatural nature of a human scientist's attempt to turn himself into a kind of God-like creator through the use of reason and science alone.
"Tartuffe" is the most obviously unnatural of the three works in terms of its style. It is a play, and the characters do not really develop as human beings because of the compressed nature…

.. reason is being heard throughout the whole universe; discover your rights," led to her being charged with treason, resulting in her arrest, trial and execution in 1793 by the dreaded guillotine (1997, Halsall, "Olympe de Gouge," Internet).
The Haitian evolution:

While all of this revolt was happening in France, the small Caribbean colony of Haiti was experiencing similar turmoil. The Haitian evolution of 1789 to 1804 began as a political struggle among the free peoples of Saint Domingue, a French colony on the island of Hispaniola. The French evolution of the same period provided the impetus for class and racial hatreds to come about on the island. Each of the colony's social classes, being the wealthy planters and merchants, and the lower white classes, seized the chance to address their grievances and bring about social chaos and revolt. While many colonial members sought support from the political groups in…

Plato and the Platypus
Philosophers in the Enlightenment era would come up with various new means to popularize ideas. Denis Diderot conceived the first encyclopedia in this period, which was an attempt to systematize all world knowledge in an accessible way. But also, in another innovation, Voltaire would offer as a refutation of the optimistic philosophy of Leibniz -- which held that "this is the best of all possible worlds" -- a new form of philosophical argument: the extended comedy (Cathcart and Klein, 17). Voltaire's short book Candide is essentially an extended refutation of Leibniz's view of God (or perhaps any view of God), but it makes its points through satirical humor. In some sense, Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein are following in the footsteps of Voltaire by attempting to shed light on philosophical ideas through the medium of humor in their work Plato and a Platypus alk Into A…

Progress During the Enlightenment
The notion of progress is as evolving as the modern society we deem progressive. While some view progress in terms of science and technology, others view progress in terms of government, social equality, economic stability, spirituality and moral sensitivity. In terms of technology, our current society is more technologically advanced than ever before. We can pick up a telephone and speak to loved ones in other cities, states, and even countries; we can compose, mail, and deliver a letter within minutes via the world-wide-web; we can flip a switch and create light where there was darkness; we can turn a key and travel hundreds of miles within a few hours. Meanwhile, our governments no longer treat minorities as second-class citizens, the world wide poverty level and corresponding mortality rates have dramatically decreased, and our views of religion and spirituality are decidedly more eclectic than in times…

English Literature
The medieval period in English history spans across some 800 years. The Anglo-Saxon period consisted of literature that was retained in memory. The major influence of the literature up until the Norman Conquest was mainly of the religious kind. "Distinguished, highly literate churchmen (Abrams 4) the Ecclesiastical History of England remains our "most important source of knowledge about the Anglo-Saxon period" (4).

The Anglo-Saxons were primarily known for their contribution to poetry. Their alliterative form was, of course, how poetry survived. Sine they wrote nothing down until they were "Christianized," Abrams suggest that that Christian ideals influenced how things were recorded and it would also explain why some non-Christian literature did not survive. Beowulf is what Abrams refers to as the "greatest" German epic, even though it appears to many pre-Christian ideas. (4) Another example of the Anglo-Saxon writing movement would be Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Chaucer brilliantly weaves…

The Great Awakening brought people together (though it did also divide them), but its influence on what the United States would later become is great. First of all, it forced people to have their own religious experience and it decreased the heavy hands of the clergy; new denominations also would come to be because of the Great Awakening as a direct result of the importance that was put on personal faith and views on salvation. The Great Awakening also brought the American colonies together and though there was also some division, there was more unification than ever before in the colonies.
The Great Awakening is so significant in the shaping of American and what it would later become because it gave individuals the freedom to find their own peace with life and God as it pertained to their earthly life -- and also to their later salvation. The United States…

Benjamin ranklin termed himself a pragmatic deist. He believes "there is one Supreme must perfect being," however that this being is distant, and that it is not necessary to build a personal relationship with such a supreme God. He concluded that it was useful and correct to believe that a faith in God should inform our daily actions. However, he did not believe in sectarian dogma, burning spirituality or deep soul searching as a part of religion (Lopez, 87). ranklin's religious views are important in the shaping of his Enlightenment philosophy. His approach to religion drew from reason and careful reflection, he did not believe in the "frivolity" of emotional thought and connectivity, but instead focused on the pragmatic understanding of the divine. His conclusion after careful reason formulates a "Supreme Being that can be manifest in various ways, depending on the needs of different worshipers" (Lopez, 88). In contrast…

Path to the Enlightenment
What with the ideological turmoil occurring prior to most of 18th century Western Europe, the Age of Enlightenment was but an inevitable outcome. eligious and political thoughts littered Europe by the spades, and with the foreign revolutions and tensions that led up to questioning both divine right and religious authority. The eformation, along with the discordant feelings toward the monarchy, became important turning points in history. Instead of blind faith, the Enlightened man turned to reason and science and believed in the utopian harmonic ideal. But exactly how did this Enlightenment come about?

Enlightenment was a movement that "strove scientifically to uncover religious truths rising above individual sectarian disputes" (Zhivov). Also simultaneously known as the "Age of eason," the Enlightenment culminated in a set of values that sought to question the traditions, customs, and moral beliefs of the cultural environment. While the schools of thought differ…

Revolution, Constitution and Enlightenment The American Revolution and the ensuing U.S. Constitution put forward by the Federalists were both products of and directly informed by the European Enlightenment. The Founding Fathers were considerably influenced by thinkers like Locke, Voltaire, Rousseau and Montesquieu (whose separation of powers served as the model of the three-branched government of the U.S.). This paper will explain how the European Enlightenment set the stage for the American Revolution and U.S. Constitution by putting out the ideas that the Americans would use as the basis of the political and social foundation.
The Enlightenment aka the Age of Reason was an Age in which natural philosophy assumed the vaulted position of guiding light over the preceding Age of Faith, which had served as the socio-political basis in Europe for centuries. The Reformation had upended the Age of Faith and introduced secularization into the political realm (Laux), particularly via…

Baghdad (Importance in Abbasid Period as a Muslim Cultural Center)
The Muslim world is comprised of various ethnic groups, nationalities, customs and traditions, languages and races. Muslims all over the world have a common belief in the Oneness and Supremacy of Allah, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and the Holy Quran. On the contrary, they all have different versions and interpretations of their religion, Islam. Thus, the theological traditions they follow are dissimilar. The Muslim world possesses an extensive political, social, economic, and geographical landscape which signifies a "kaleidoscope of historical and cultural experiences." Despite of the differences, however, the contemporary Muslim world today has inherited a highly triumphant and exultant civilization. Muslims are the heirs of a successful civilization that was larger and more productive than the greatest empires in the history including Greek, oman, Byzantine, and Sassanid (Ahmad 2007).

After the demise of the prophet Muhammad (peace…

art is changed by the changes that occur in political culture. The writer presents examples and contrasts two of the following areas Baroque, ococo, Neoclassicism, and omanticism and argues the point of how the eras drive changes in artwork. In addition the writer devotes two pages to comparing three works of famous artists.
Art has always been influenced by the masses. Political culture, and change have been driving forces behind the changes in art that history has witnessed. When political and cultural changes occur it is generally because of changing attitudes of those who live in the era and drive those changes. This extrapolates to changes in many things including taste in artwork. Two periods in history provide classic examples of such change occurring and being directly related to political and cultural changes that were taking place in society during the time.

The Neoclassical period and the omantic era are…

Though her mother had passed, there would be maternal, familial and nurturing love to be found in the warmth and kindness of those whom she would meet here. ith the Black Madonna photograph as a compass and the pressures of the changing Civil Rights climate as a motor, Lily ultimately had found personal redemption in the implications of both. It is no matter of coincidence that the author so aggressively intertwined the conditions of Lily's confrontation of her own demons concerning the death of her mother with the personal revelations that, on a broad social scale, underscored the Civil Rights Movement as a whole. Indeed, the resolution finds Lily in a place of relative emotional equanimity, having confronted the truth about her mother, having faced the anger of her father and having ultimately settled on her life in the Boatright's community. Accordingly, "August and her community become Lily's new family,…

Ideology in France 1848-1849: eflections on Nationalism and Liberalism
The ideology adopted in France between 1848-1849 has been described in many different ways by historians and theorists. The predominant body of research available however suggests that a liberal and nationalistic ideology reigned supreme during this time, where the middle class became much more influential. The idealisms of the romantic era are also evident in France during this period of time, and may have influenced the nationalistic state of affairs in France at the time.

The liberal and nationalistic idealisms adopted by the middle class led many people to experience struggles and hardships, but a majority of these were in the process of discovering their own form of leadership and sense of pride. These ideas are explored in greater detail below.

Ideology in France

Karl Marx describes the France of 1848-1849 as filled with Class struggles. From primary accounts of the…

Economics in Ancient Civilization
It is said that "Rome was not built in a day." Indeed, the Roman Empire was the last of a series of civilizations to emerge in the Mediterranean by the First Millennium, B.C. Precursors to the culture most identified as the seat of estern political economy, the Ancient Egyptians, Etruscans, Greeks, Syrians, Carthaginians and Phoenicians all had contact with the Romans, and eventually were incorporated through territorial expansion of the Empire in Asia Minor, Cyrenaica, Europe, and North Africa. Prior to the Roman period, Europe was primarily occupied by Barbarian tribes; societies where no written language, legal system or alternative mechanism of governance was in place. hen we discuss the advancement of Ancient civilizations, then, it is through the transmission of law, literacy and polity that we find source to retrospect on early economic forms. In Feinman and Nicholas (2004), Perspectives on Political Economies, the difficulties…

Art has always been used as a means of expression and of confirmation of events and movements that take place in the society in that respective period of time. The Neo-Classical and Romanticist art makes no exception to this rule and the two periods have been considered in the history of artistic art as two of the most representative for the expressivity they brought to the world of the arts as well as through the painters they inspired. Jacques-Louis David and Eugene Delacroix are two of the most representative painters of the New Classical period and the Romanticist art and their paintings are significant for the symbols and ideals these two periods provided for the artistic world.
Neo-classical art must be seen in the wider context of the 18th century and the era of Enlightenment when the new perceptions on the role of reason were redefined against the concepts of…

Intellectual development is reflected in the creation, development and eventual preference for a specific type of government or representation in the society. Consequently, this period of intellectual development helped promote the freedom and social order, as more forms of representation and governance were developed and implemented in American society. Republicanism's eventual dominance over other governments and political ideologies, however, reflects the society's need to preserve and champion their individual freedoms and at the same time, maintain social order despite people's political differences and beliefs.
The Great Awakening emerged as an ideology, a religious movement that embodied social order and served as a precursor to the American Revolution (declared in the late 18th century). This revivalist religious movement in American history paved the way for an "open and undisguised Unitarianism" among different Christian sects and churches in America. While there was still diversity among churches and sects, the Great Awakening improved…

Europe witnessed a flowering period in the 18th century that historians call the Age of Enlightenment. A period filled with experimentation as well as intellectual curiosity, people relied on the power of human reason in order to understand society and nature. One specific manifestation of the Enlightenment was a steadfast faith in the stable progression of civilization via scientific development. Because of this religious judgment went to the wayside. Instead, people wanted improvement through freedom, equality, and tolerance. French writers/thinkers expressed these sentiments and notions through their work. These philosophers devoted their passion to useful thought and not speculation. Towards the latter half of the 18th century (1782), such thinking took the form of a highly scandalous story, Dangerous Liaisons.
ritten by Pierre Ambroise Choderlos de Laclos, a member of minor nobility and a French intelligence officer within the army, Dangerous Liaisons describes French nobility and the search for sex…

Kant was no exception to the paradigmatic priorities (i.e. objectivity as knowledge) of the era, and brief reference to the episteme is serves accuracy in discursive analysis of this heritage within American politics and policy thought. For instance, Kant's Critique of Judgment is enormously influential in establishing a connection between judgment and political and moral precepts to conduct in communities. Intellectual lineage to Kant's model of Enlightenment 'reason" combines ritish Empiricism with Continental Rationalism; and partly explains why his philosophical proposition that the existence of persistent war against non-liberal states is a requirement to perpetual peace is reiterated in scholarly expiation since the Enlightenment period, making Perpetual Theory of War as lasting as seminal reference (ehnke, 2009, Caranti, 2006 and Murray, 2003). Discourse Analysis toward the study's cause-and-effect analysis is derived from speeches and interviews taken from the ush administration in Table 1.
Table 1

President ush -- Speeches and…

History of the Habsburg Empire,1273-1700
The historical work of Jean Berenger titled, "A History of the Habsburg Empire, 1273-1700," is beneficial in understanding the Habsburg Dynasty of this time period. hile there has been many works that have also been helpful when completing studies on this topic, Berenger's work is a successful addition to previously published research.

Berenger is a respected professor of history. His writings display a vast knowledge of the most recent as well as the older literature on Habsburg history. His knowledge is not limited to just the French and Austrain works, but he is also in command of the most recent English fellow. In this work, Berenger undertook an enormous task of explicitly explaining the colorful tapestry that is woven of the individual nations of the monarchy. He didn't take any stand for only one side, but equally gives information concerning all involved.

Berenger explains the…

Moll Flanders
The eighteenth century is often thought of a time of pure reason; after all, the eighteenth century saw the Enlightenment, a time when people believed fervently in rationality, objectivity and progress. However, Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe also shows an era of chaos, depicted by a sort of wildness inside of people. Moll Flanders, the protagonist of Defoe's story, has been an orphan, a wife, mother, prostitute and a thief. Paula Backscheider (65) urges that Moll Flanders symbolizes the vicissitudes that were frequently experienced by many people in what was supposed to be an enlightened age. This is an obvious juxtaposition in Defoe's work. Defoe depicts a world that is not very compassionate, despite it being the Enlightenment period. Moll should have been better taken care of as an orphan, but she wasn't and this shows a complete lack of social responsibility on the government's side. There seems…

It also widened her female audience much further than the small group of upper-class women with whom she was acquainted (ibid).
Overall, this work represented Lanyer as a complex writer who possessed significant artistic ambition and "who like other women of the age wrote not insincerely on devotional themes to sanction more controversial explorations of gender and social relations" (Miller 360).

In her work, Lanyer issued a call to political action by noting several Old Testament women who changed the course of ancient Jewish history through their bravery, humor and valor, and she recalled the favor Christ demonstrated to women in a variety of actions and by electing them as custodians of his salvational message (ibid 362). The story covered Christ's betrayal by male apostles, the arraignment before male authorities to whom Lanyer addressed complaints, and the account of Christ's procession to Calvary, the crucifixion and the drama of the…

Skepticism is defined as a school of philosophical thought where a person doubts the beliefs of another person or group. hile one person might believe wholeheartedly a certain political perspective or believe completely the dogma of a religion, a skeptic would have doubts about these beliefs or about the stories related to religion. Not only do they doubt organized religion, they also doubt the validity of socially constructed morals and laws. Sometimes they doubt the world as they witness it because they are unsure of the truth of reality as they perceive it through the senses (Butchvarov 1998). Like many philosophies, skepticism has origins in Ancient Greece. Pyrrho of Elis is credited with founding the philosophy, a branch of which was later named Pyrrhonism in his honor. The philosophy was expanded into countries throughout the known world, up to and including the early modern world. During the Enlightenment, skepticism branched…

At the Tree of Knowledge, in a last impassioned speech designed (successfully to convince Eve to taste the fruit, Satan (in the guise of the serpent) extols the virtues of the fruit in high apostrophe: "O Sacred, Wise, and Wisdom-giving Plant, / Mother of Science" (Paradise Lost 9 679-80). This is a clear indication of what the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge represented, both to Eve in Milton's tale and to the seventeenth century readers of Milton's telling. That is, Milton quite purposefully equated knowledge with science, and not just the moral knowledge of good and evil that is explicitly referenced in the Bible, and later on in Milton's own version of the tale. Paradise Lost is not meant to simply be a modern retelling of the story of Adam and Eve, the casting out of Satan and the other fallen angels, and other portions of the Christian mythology.…

Kant and Rousseau
Reducing Conflicts Between States

The Theories of the Great Philosophers Rousseau and Kant

The great philosophers of the 18th century were the first of their kind to fully encapsulate what it meant to be an ethnocentric state, rather than a simple nation or territory, and also were the first philosophers able to address the question of war between states as not merely individual struggles for dominance, but rather persistent frictions present in the system of states themselves. The formal idea of statehood came of age in the Peace of estphalia in 1648, which ended the Thirty Year's ar, and affirmed the domination of the central government of each state as the supreme power of the land, rather than any religious or social power. At this time, every state was essentially a dictatorship, and the world was divided into fiefdoms. The peace reached at estphalia created the conditions…

Formal Analysis
Jacques Louis David's Oath of Horatii is the best known and most explicit depiction of neoclassical painting, owing to its inclination to patriotic concern and stiffness. Apparently, Pierre Corneille's play named Horace is the inspiration behind David's work. The play is acclaimed for promoting masculine values and civil conduct. However, it is important to note that the part on the oath wasn't in the play. The work by David is laced with significant tension that transmits a powerful feel. The play is presented on a theatre-like stage. The three sons of Horace are pledging loyalty and allegiance to Rome; even as it leads them to feud with the hero from Albano city, Curatii, which also happened to be their brother in-law.

Jacques painting is depicted in two parts. On one side, the left, the men are portrayed in patriotic mood and valour while the other side shows these…

The Executive Branch (President and Cabinet) executes spending and Congressional instructions, makes appointments to certain governmental posts, and is the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. The Judicial Branch (Supreme Court) exercises judicial review over the constitutionality and interpretation of laws; determines how Congress meant the law to apply, and has a panel that serves for life (Constitutional Topic: Separation of Powers).
There are a number of criticisms focused on the actual level of democracy or even democratic representation in the United States of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. First, many governmental officials (Supreme Court justices, etc.) are appointed, not elected, and therefore may operate outside the will of the populace. Second, in order to be elected to a state or national office now requires a huge amount of funding; putting elected office outside the purview of most people. Thus, it is not necessarily the "best" people…

Moreover, they saw religious faith as critical to promoting moral stability in the community (Breslin, 2004). Here we see how federalists adhere in the idea of liberalism by siding with sovereign nation-states where a central type of government is a political strategy. Moreover, Federalists side with the Hobbesian doctrine of liberalism where no religious power should be exercised among people as Anti-Federalists argued that religious faith is crucial is the stability of communities. For Federalists, political rule is the only legitimate rule of power, at least in the socio-political sense.
eferences

Berkowitz, P. (1996). Intellectual History of Classical Liberalism. etrieved from www.dailyrepublican.com/liberalhistory.html. onMarch 12.

Breslin, B. (2004). The Communitarian Constitution. etrieved from www.bsos.umd.edu/gvpt/lpbr/subpages/reviews/breslin904.htm. onMarch 12.

Moseley, a. (2006). Political Philosophy. etrieved at http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/p/polphil.htm#SH3aonMarch 12, 2009.

Mount, S. (2007). Constitutional Topic: The Federalists and Anti-Federalists. etrieved at http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop_faf.html. onMarch 12, 2009.

New World Encyclopedia. (2008). Age of Enlightenment. etrieved from www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Age_of_EnlightenmentonMarch…

Marxist theory always sees class struggle, always exploitation of the haves vs. The have nots, and asks what economic systems cause societies to structure themselves in this hierarchical manner. Marx believed his theories about class struggle and historical materialism were scientific, and had the objective of developing a scientific analysis of the working class and its relationship to the owners. Marxist sociology asks: how does capital control the working class? How does the mode of production influence class? What is the interrelationship between workers, economics and the state? How do economic issues influence the inequalities in society? Thus, Marx views labor as integral but underactualized -- in a sense, Taylorism proves Marx's point about the conflict between classes.
Prior to both Marx and Taylor, John Locke, one of the most influential English philosophers of the Enlightenment Period, set the stage for the role of humanity within society. His views on…

Jane Austin's Sense and Sensibility, while including no supernatural references, focuses on the more positive side of extreme emotion of romantic love. Similarly to Shelley's work, this side of emotion is also used to reflect upon the society of the time. The hypocrisy often associated with marriage ties are for example exposed.

Romantic poetry is not so much concerned with the anxieties or evils in society. Instead, the concern of this poetry is depicting the human relationship with nature as a part of it, rather than separated from it. As such, there is a departure from the image of socially imposed order towards a free, untamed image of nature. Similarly to romantic fiction, poetry also focuses on the strength of emotions related to this. These are entirely individualized, with the connection of the individual to nature often central to the work.

ince neither of those explanations is likely (let alone knowable), philosophical naturalists would have to doubt that the universe exists at all; yet, very clearly, it does. The most likely explanation for the existence of the universe is simply that some force or consciousness (i.e. God) caused whatever the so-called "first cause" of existence was.
The second major philosophical assumption of philosophical naturalism presupposes that all philosophical postulates must, necessarily, fit the scientific model. However, that supposition clearly closes off many possible explanations simply because they may lie outside of human understanding. Again, that position is an a priori assumption that also violates the first major philosophical assumption of philosophical naturalism. In essence, it suggests that scientific concepts provide the only possible set of tools for understanding phenomena, including phenomena that obviously defy scientific explanation such as miracles and faith. Most importantly, it automatically (and in a manner that is…

In the 21st century, American, European, and Asian trans-national corporations (e.g., General Motors; Toyota; Coca Cola; IBM; Nestle, etc., build plants in Mexico and Latin America, where indigenous labor is cheaper than American labor. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of poor Mexican citizens living in poverty struggle to sneak across the borders of the United States, into California, Arizona, Texas, or New Mexico, in hope of finding better lives by working for American dollars, instead of Mexican pesos.
All in all, European colonialism, an outgrowth and direct result of acquisitive worldwide European exploration and expansion, from the time of the Spanish conquistadores through the Enlightenment Period; through the Industrial Revolution and beyond, has done more harm than good within both Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa. For the most part, within these regions, colonialism (and/or its long-lasting after-effects) brought disease; poverty, and much cultural coercion to those areas. Natural resources were stolen;…

Dominance of Humanity over Nature: Conflict and Change in 19th Century Human Society in the Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, author of the novel Frankenstein (1818), had introduced in literature a new genre and theme where human society and nature experiences conflict over time. The novel primarily depicts the state of humanity in the 19th century, where the effects of the Enlightenment period are reinforced through the study of the natural sciences (biology, physics, and chemistry, among others) and predominance of empirical thought, i.e., human knowledge acquired through experience and obtained through the scientific method.

With these state of events and forces dominating 19th century human society, this paper's analysis of the novel Frankenstein is two-fold: one facet discusses the issue of conflict and change happening in human society during the period, and the other facet looking into the dynamics of these changes, through exemplars and cases illustrated…

Platt Book Critique
eligion is an integral part of human culture -- a set of organized beliefs about the universe, humanity, and the larger questions surrounding the spiritual values akin to society. Philosophers have debated the notions of religion for centuries, and even in the Enlightenment Period of European history, many found the lack of tolerance in many Christians an idea that could not be reconciled with the actual teachings of the Bible. Indeed, this disconnect between spirituality and the man-made interpretation seemed to manifest in intolerance and judgment as opposed to the teachings of Christ as unconditional love and acceptance.

Author David Platt, in adical, challenges the reader on just this disconnect. How humans have historically manipulated the Gospels to fit a series of cultural preferences and to justify behaviors that were simply not part of the very nature of Christianity. We know that the Christian Bible has been…

A normal pro-life campaign is less complex than Catholic anti-abortion principles because of the religious aspect of the matter. The connection between the Catholic Church and morality has come to be stronger in the recent years in spite of the fact that it does not essentially function based on morality alone. To a certain degree, one might be inclined to consider that the Church is wrong in promoting anti-abortion simply because it wants to follow Christian tradition. Catholic teachings are essentially derived from the Bible and "whatever the "moral" teaching of the Church might be, it is, in the final analysis, a function of how to read the Scripture. Christian morality is not, in short, a "stand-alone" moral position" (O'Brien 92). In promoting anti-abortion messages, Catholic representatives practically go against the general message that the Gospel is trying to convey.

Catholics have recently been more determined than ever to fight…

Darwin
Had the Enlightenment adequately prepared 19th century readers for Darwin's Origin of the Species? The Enlightenment view of the science of life was neatly summed up by Diderot in his Encyclopedia, in many ways a signature product of the Enlightenment's dedication to setting forth the foundations of human knowledge. As Diderot notes in his prefaratory comments, what we call biology falls under the heading of "Natural History":

The divisions of natural history derive from the existing diversity of the facts of nature, and the diversity of the facts of nature from the diversity of the states of nature. Either nature is uniform and follows a regular course, such as one notes generally in celestial bodies, animals, vegetables, etc.; or it seems forced and displaced from its ordinary course, as in monsters; or it is restrained and put to different uses, as in the arts. Nature does everything, either in…

Jefferson's Principles and their Impact on Education

Jefferson's radical beliefs in the inherent moral and developmental capacities of humans, and in their capacities to take part to participatory democracy, in turn reinforced his enduring commitment to an education that would be accessible to all. Jefferson was well aware that democracy could only work properly when the people were both virtuous and enlightened.

From these notions that people were naturally virtuous but not naturally enlightened, but that enlightenment was necessary for democracy, it followed that the society had a vested interest in investing in education to provide enlightenment.

In a letter to the Welsh born philosopher Richard Price dated January 8, 1789, Jefferson observed that "wherever the people are well informed they can be trusted with their government."

uch well informed or enlightened people could be relied on, "whenever things get so far wrong as to attract their notice," to set…

The growing dominance of the bourgeois class and the growing economic discontent in the society combined to create the atmosphere of dissatisfaction and conflict that eventually led to the development and declaration of the French Revolution.
King Louis XVI's passion for ballet dancing paved the way for ballet to thrive, develop and become rampant during his reign in the late 17th century. Under the leadership of Louis XVI's, ballet was institutionalized not only as an art form, but also as a profession. Moreover, during this period, ballet became a profession and art form no longer dominated by males, but also by females. It was also during this period that the comedie ballet became a popular form of ballet dance, particularly performed in Louis XVI's court ballet.

One of the most distinct characteristics of the Age of Enlightenment from other social and cultural movements that occurred in the history of humanity…

Evening in the Palace of Reason: Bach Meets Frederick the Great in the Age of Enlightenment (Harper Perennial, James Gaines), 2006.
Gaines' book discusses two of history's greatest men, each of whom became great for a different reason. One was a political leader and statesman the other a musician. he biography of each could not have been more different. Both had tough lives and both fought against enormous stakes but one lived in a palace and the other travelled from place to place living in some at most only 3 years. One sampled jail and the other saw his partner killed and was saved by being sent to the military. One was homosexual and the other happily married in love. Bach's love in contradistinction to that of Frederick was more serene and meaningful. His music absorbed him and made him happy. He was focused; his life purely devoted to cantatas…

He continued to study medicine with Thomas Sydenham as his mentor. (ikipedia)
He had an unsuccessful attempt to prevent James II from reaching the throne, and, as a result of his failure, he had been obliged to flee England. He did not return to England until 1689, when James II had been removed from power. It only took one year until he published his most important work: An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. He had been inspired from the works of Decartes when he wrote the essay. Locke also paid great interest to politics, which motivated him in writing the Two Treatises of Government. His work related to the fact that the state has to protect the rights that its citizens have, including the right to property.

The fact that he considered the people to be more important than the state and that freedom of religion was vital in order for…

Most individuals fail to appreciate life to the fullest because they concentrate on being remembered as some of the greatest humans who ever lives. This makes it difficult for them to enjoy the simple pleasures in life, considering that they waste most of their time trying to put across ideas that are appealing to the masses. While many did not manage to produce ideas that survived more than them, others succeeded and actually produced thinking that remained in society for a long period of time consequent to their death.

Creativity is generally regarded as one of the most important concepts in society, considering that it generally induces intense feelings in individuals. It is responsible for progress and for the fact that humanity managed to produce a series of ideas that dominated society's thinking through time. In order for someone to create a concept that will live longer than him or…

Franklin Delaney oosevelt's attitude towards the Jewish problem during the War. I have read and heard such contradictory accounts spanning from Jews who congratulate for his involvement to some scholars and others who criticize him for an alleged anti-Semitism. Being that this is a famous personality that we are talking about and a prominent President of the U.S.A.; I felt that enlightenment on the subject was important. I wanted to go to the source, and therefore I accessed original documents from the collections of the Franklin D. oosevelt Presidential Library and Museum. These, compounded with other sources, are the results that I found.
By the 1940s, news had already reached the U.S.A. about the concentration camps which Edward . Murrow described (December, 13, 1942),as "A horror beyond what imagination can grasp . . . there are no longer 'concentration camps' -- we must speak now only of 'extermination camps.'" (FD…

Clothing and Culture
Clothing, in the modern definition, is considered to be fiber or textiles that are worn on humans, and one of the anthropological features of human culture and society. The type (color, style, fit) of clothing is typically dependent upon a number of variables -- geography, weather, gender, status, physical state, work activities, and even status symbols. From a practical standpoint, clothing serves as protection from external weather, or for safety reasons (constructing, cooking, hiking, sports); it may protect the wearer from flora and fauna (nettles, bites, thorns); it may insulate against hot or cold conditions; and may even provide a hygienic barrier. Often, studying the aspects of clothing and society tells scholars a great deal about the particular culture -- not just in external appearance but in the technology of textile production, weaving, and adornment (oucher & Deslandres, 1989).

Evolution of Clothing Styles: Scholars are uncertain as…

Two examples of this "Enlightened Despotism" were Catherine the Great of Russia and Frederick the Great of Prussia. They based their monarchial powers, not on the Divine Right of Kings, but upon the need for a strong authoritative government to promote greater welfare within the state. These rulers created greater national standards and regulations that helped the state create a strong political infrastructure that veered away from traditional custom-based doctrine. As a result, Enlightened Absolutism became the norm within European government as monarchs began to systematically create a method to entrench national level reforms that would provoke greater political, economic and social stability.
Ultimately all four of these events are strongly interrelated because they were changes in the mindset of individuals. At the core level however, they were all reactions and extensions of the Reformation movement, which promoted greater individual liberty and free thinking. Absolutism and its evolution led to…

French omantic painter, Eugene Delacroix, is well-known from this period. Delacroix often took his subjects from literature but added much more by using color to create an effect of pure energy and emotion that he compared to music. He also showed that paintings can be done about present-day historical events, not just those in the past (Wood, 217). He was at home with styles such as pen, watercolor, pastel, and oil. He was also skillful in lithography, a new graphic process popular with the omantics. His illustrations of a French edition of Goethe's "Faust" and Shakespeare's "Hamlet" still stand as the finest examples in that medium.

Delacroix' painting "Massacre at Chios" is precisely detailed, but the action is so violent and the composition so dynamic that the effect is very disturbing (Janson, 678). With great vividness of color and strong emotion he pictured an incident in which 20,000 Greeks were…

Joey's "going commando" lead to a state of American cultural Enlightenment?
Adorno's "How to read a television show," the American cultural industry of television, different definition of Enlightenment, and the departing NBC network show "Friends"

One of the most complex words in the English language is Enlightenment. Consider the many levels of meaning that have been attached to the word, throughout history and in the many dictionaries that line the shelves of modern libraries. To begin with the Internet, as all searches for meaning must begin in the 21st century, according to an Internet site identifying itself as "brainydictonary," the definition of "Enlightenment" is a noun that means the "act of enlightening, or the state of being enlightened or instructed." Enlightenment relates to the expansion "of conscious states, expanding consciousness, expansion of consciousness, consciousness expansion. (Brainydictionary, 2004)

However, the expansion of the mind on a personal level is a relatively…

Many believe that this judgment takes place within a person's lifetime through sufferings for acts committed, and one does not have to wait for the end of time. The basic belief of Christianity is that there is a Christian God, who is benevolent and giving, but who is also a vengeful God. In fact, a large part of Pilgrim theology was premised on God being vengeful, and that self sacrifices were needed to appease God. Christians also believe that Christ was the son of God, who came to fulfill the Messianic prophecy espoused by sages from the Old Testament. Goodness, kindness, good deeds, generosity, honesty are divinely inspired. Christians keep Christ as a cherished beacon to be emulated every step of the way. Good deeds (which would satisfy uddhists) without true faith is meaningless.
The uddhists have an assigned eight-step path to enlightenment. These are not far removed from any…

Not only was this theme fully explored within the historical context, but thoroughly analyzed within Europe as well. The teachings of such notable thinker as Sigmund Freud points to this direction of development. He concluded that there modernism within Europe had become characterized by the disorder of the mind. More precisely, there was a lack of any fixed system of reference for living and thinking. Europe, which had formerly been the center of intellectual development and revolutionary thinking now suffered under the burden of a weak political infrastructure. As a result, many of their greatest talents and knowledge now flowed away from Europe to other developing nations such as the United States.
The Age of Anxiety was coined not by historian but by Europeans of the age themselves. They reflected upon the disturbing trends that were occurring within European nation-states. It gave rise to radical social, political and scientific ideas…

When Serbia refused, Austro-Hungary declared war on Serbia, forcing the mobilization of ussia to prevent the destruction of Serbia.
German forces mobilized in support of Austro-Hungary by prior agreement, and declared war on ussia in response to her mobilization of forces.

To avoid a war on two fronts, Germany attacked France because of the fear that France would attack Germany once Germany and ussia went to war against each other.

Britain entered the war against Germany because Germany invaded Belgium to bypass the most fortified approaches into France. By 1917, German attacks on neutral shipping bound for England provoked the U.S. To enter the war as well. Some of the first action of the wider war was the occupation of German colonies in Asia and Africa. By the end of the war, England was poised to rule much of the Middle East until after World War II, which control was…

(Eliot, 1971).
The Subjective over the Objective

Modernism was a reaction against Realism and its focus on objective depiction of life as it was actually lived. Modernist writers derived little artistic pleasure from describing the concrete details of the material world and the various human doings in it. They derived only a little more pleasure from describing the thoughts of those humans inhabiting the material world. Their greatest pleasure, however, was in expressing the angst, confusion, and frustration of the individual who has to live in that world. (Merriam-Webster, p. 1236).

Modernist writers used novel means for expressing these newly intense emotions. They did not always express the individual's confusion and frustration by relating the inner discourse of the individual. Instead, they manipulated the structure, style, and content of their works to cultivate a certain effect on the reader. (aym, Vol. D, p. 17). They wanted to convey the experience…

Life of the Buddha:
What was the Buddha's name? How else do Buddhists refer to him?

His name is Siddhartha Gautama and he is often referred to as the 'awakened' or 'enlightened' one.

What are the circumstances in which the Buddha grew up?

Siddhartha was born in 563 B.C. He lived in a place called Lumbini and then was raised in Kapilavashtha, Sakya Kingdom's capital. During this time, Northern India was made up of various small and independent states. It is during this period, people came to challenge and question Vedic philosophy through a number of new religious and philosophical schools. There was a strong moral vacuum present.

What are the "four passing sights"?

The first is an old man that reminded Buddha of aging. The second was a sick person that reminded Buddha of pain and disease. The third was a corpse that reminded Buddha of…

In the scene where the Emperor and his aides argue about the language for the new opera, one of the aides notes, "Plain German for plain people," and "German is too brutal" ("Amadeus"). Underlying this conversation is the idea that the north could not possibly be civilized or educated, and only the elite and attuned listened to the classical music emanating from Italy. This also indicates how the culture was changing, and indicates the difference between the two composers. Mozart welcomed writing in German, but was open to any language, while Salieri plodded along in Italian. He was not open to change and innovation, while Mozart championed it in his music and his life.
Throughout the film, it is clear Salieri cannot grow to accept the changes in Classical music. He represents the old morals of the enaissance, while Mozart represents the new morals of the Enlightenment that would forge…

Robespierre had Danton and his followers arrested, convicted, and beheaded.
A movie produced on Danton by Poland's Andrzej Wajda in 1983 clearly showed the zeal of the revolutionaries against this Rule of Terror (Weiss). The movie argues that Robespierre was so concerned with keeping his own power, he destroyed the principles on which the revolution was founded. In a scene of the film, the onvention realizes Robespierre's intentions, and someone yells, "Down with the dictator!" Robespierre destroys the revolution by using violence to enforce democratic ideals. During the trial Danton sums up what Robespierre has done: "Revolutionary principles have made you forget the revolution."

The Enlightenment ended after the devastation of the French Revolution and Napoleonic era, rise of a religious revival and growth of the Industrial Revolution and business class. However, much of the philosophies of this time continue today through constitutions of countries including the U.S.'

France was…

I. Novikov. It is not clear whether Bolotov himself was a Mason, but he certainly personally belonged to the same social circles as many leading Freemasons in Russia. In his Entsiklopediia, 128, 990, Serkov mentions Bolotov as a possible member of the Konigsberg military lodge of Joanna Krestitelia (John the Baptist) working in Elagin's system around 1773. (Cross, 105)
The Freemasons continued to grow and improve Russian society until the death of Peter III, when his wife Catherine took over the throne. During the reign of Peter III, the numbers and lodges grew substantially and it became fashionable in Russia to be a member of the Freemasons. In fact, many nobles from other countries were traveling to Russia to be a part of the new and growing movement.

Catherine the Great

One of the longstanding rules and traditions of the Freemasons is that members must be men, as women were…

The most striking difference of this painting is the extensive use of gold leaf. A matured use of shadow and detail can be seen in this tangka, indicating a later, more developed art form. It lacks the detail to symmetry found in the other two examples as well. This piece provides an excellent contrast to the earlier two Tangka that were examined. it's attention to shading, clear outlines, and accents in gold may indicate the Menris school of the 1500s (Tibetanartschool.com).
Conclusion

Tangka paintings are an important part of Tibetian life. Many regional differences exist in the painting styles and techniques that are employed in the paintings. It might be noted that Tangkas in western Tibet take on a Chinese flavor. Tangkas of the religious nature are divided into three major portions. They are the top, middle and lower portions of the painting, representing the heaven, earth and underworld (U-wayttours.com).…

Ross (1988) notes the development of Romanticism in the late eighteenth century and indicates that it was essentially a masculine phenomenon:
Romantic poetizing is not just what women cannot do because they are not expected to; it is also what some men do in order to reconfirm their capacity to influence the world in ways socio-historically determined as masculine. The categories of gender, both in their lives and in their work, help the Romantics establish rites of passage toward poetic identity and toward masculine empowerment. Even when the women themselves are writers, they become anchors for the male poets' own pursuit for masculine self-possession. (Ross, 1988, 29)

Mary ollstonecraft was as famous as a writer in her day as her daughter. Both mother and daughter were important proponents of the rights of women both in their writings and in the way they lived and served as role models for other…

La Mort D'Ophelie, Berlioz -- -Choir

Style-Romanticism

Unity and Variety-emphasis upon unity

Structure of the Music

Purpose of the Music

Tempo-Adagio

Volume-low

Rhythm-Consistent

Melody-Consistent

armony-balanced

Form-Circular

istorical Period-1842

Vier Gesange, Op. 17, Brahms-Choir

Style-Enlightenment

Unity and Variety

Structure of the Music

Purpose of the Music

Tempo-Adagio

Volume-Low

Rhythm-Consistent

Melody-Consistent

armony-balanced

Form-Enlightenment

istorical Period-Mid 1800s

Pavane in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 50

Style-Romantic

Unity and Variety

Structure of the Music

Purpose of the Music

Tempo-Adagio

Volume-Low

Rhythm-Consistent

Melody-Consistent

armony-Balanced

Form-Romantic

istorical Period-1885

Faure - Choir Fantasy in C-Minor For Piano

Style-Romantic

Unity and Variety-Emphasis upon unity

Structure of the Music

Purpose of the Music

Tempo-Adagio

Volume-Low

Rhythm-Consistent

Melody and armony-low pitch

Form-Romantic

istorical Period-1887

Chorus and Orchesta by Beethoven.

Style-Improvisational

Unity and Variety-Emphasis upon unity, but variety within one piece

Structure of the Music

Purpose of the Music

Tempo-Adagio and then Allegro

Volume-Immense

Rhythm-Very Consistent

Melody and armony-igh emphasis upon pitch

Form-Romantic…

It was reflected in the Republic's closure of religious convents in 1925. (Fleet, Faroqhi, & Kasaba, p. 164). The Republic also replaced the Islamic canon law with a secular civil code in 1926. (Fleet, Faroqhi, & Kasaba, p. 164-165). Thus, Yaban's portrayal of the gullible peasant populace and their attachment to Islam, illustrates the social obstacles that the Nationalist government was reacting to with its secularizing reforms.
Conclusion

Karaomerlio-lu's views might be represented by Celal's resignation with the village and warned future bureaucrats of the impossibility of Nationalist enlightenment there. Ironically, Yaban's publicisation of their condition invoked political sympathy for them, leading to intensified efforts to nationalize, civilize, and develop peasant villages. This sentiment was represented by Kadro, a leftist publication managed by the Kemalist regime's opposition party, which advocated peasant interests in the Republic. (Turkes, 2001, p. 92-93). In response, the Republican People's Party, which ousted the Kemalist regime,…

Christianity in Europe
The Decline of European Christianity, 1675-Present

The demise of Christianity in Europe coincides with the rise of the Age of Enlightenment at the end of the 17th century.

Up to that moment, Europe had been relatively one in religious belief. True, religious wars had been raging for more than a century, with the fracturing of nations in the wake of the "Protestant Reformation." ut even then, Europe had acknowledged a single Savior -- wherein lay His Church was the major point of contention. ut today Europe exists in a post-Christian state. Its Christian identity has collapsed under the weight of Romantic-Enlightenment ideals, expressed dramatically in the French Revolution at the end of the 18th century and adopted politically throughout the continent as a result of a more man-centered, rather than God-centered, vision of life. This paper will trace the decline of European Christianity and provide three reasons…