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ICTW #27: Choose ONE of the following prompts to respond to:
• Describe a time when you had an “aha!” moment of understanding or clarity. What triggered your sudden understanding?
• A time when you completely changed your viewpoint on something. What brought about the change?
• Describe what you think it means to be “enlightened.” How does a person become enlightened?
On Tap:
• ICTW #27• Enlightenment Lecture• Excerpt from Poor Richard’s
Almanack
Notes….
Colonialism/The Age of Reason
THE ENLIGHTENMENT
1740s - 1820
Notes on Enlightenment
• Also known as the age of Rationalism or Colonialism (yes, they are all interchangeable).
• Time: 1750-1800
KNOWLEDGE:
• Rational, logical• Knowledge obtained through
sense and reason• Called The Enlightenment due to
an increased interest in science and gaining knowledge.
World View:
• Natural Law: Theory that says laws are from nature and therefore universal. Focus on justice.
• Deists: God created the world, but he does not directly influence human lives.
"There can be no real question that the Enlightenment promoted the cause of freedom, more widely, directly, positively. It not only asserted but demonstrated the power of knowledge and reason in self-determination, the choice and realization of human purpose. It carried out a concerted attack on the vested interests that opposed the diffusion of knowledge and the free exercise of reason.”Herbert J. Muller. (1964). Freedom in the Western World
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are needed to see this picture.
Social View:
• Idealists! They believed in the essential goodness of man. (Wow -- talk about a shift from those pesky Puritans.)
• Focus on the common man -- more moral, closer to the truth.
• Democracy starts!
Self-Concept:
• Social. Member of a community.
• Morality outweighs other decisions -- do what is good for society. Be a good citizen.
View of Nature:
• Mechanical. Scientific. Follows laws and rules.
• Separation between God, Nature, and Man.
Historical Background:
• Growing dissatisfaction with England and taxation without representation.
• Rebellion against England• Revolutionary War• Writings are mostly political documents.
Speeches, letters, pamphlets.• 1773 - Boston Tea Party• 1775-1783 - American Revolution• July 4, 1776 - American Independence• 1789 - American Constitution
Content
Texts of the time discussed:• national mission and American
character• democratic utopia• use of reason and logic in decision
making
Effect
• pride and patriotism grow• “print culture” becomes a “vehicle
for the new nation’s democratic identity and principles” (144 EMC)
• proliferation of newspapers and magazines– More eyes/brains who want
knowledge = more venues for writers.
Representative Writers:
• Benjamin Franklin
• Thomas Paine
• Thomas Jefferson
• Alexander Hamilton
Now let’s take a look at a text from the Enlightenment
time period….
• Here is some background information you need to know about the text and a new word…aphorism!
Poor Richard’s AlmanackBenjamin Franklin
• The Almanack contained the calendar, weather, poems, sayings and astronomical and astrological information of the period.
• It is chiefly remembered, however, for being a repository of Franklin's aphorisms and proverbs, many of which live on in American English.
What in the world is an APHORISM???
• An APHORISM is an original thought, spoken or written in a laconic (efficient) and memorable form.
• Aphorisms can be statements of all kinds of philosophical, moral, or literary principles.
• In modern usage an aphorism is generally understood to be a concise statement containing a subjective truth or observation cleverly written.
Handout Activity: Poor Richard’s Almanack
DUE BEFORE YOU LEAVE TODAY!
• Read the excerpt from Franklin’s almanack.
• As you read and annotate, try to make connections between the text and the Enlightenment lecture you just took notes on.
• Question: How does this text represent the thoughts and attitudes of the time period?
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