What was the Enlightenment? Of all eras, it has probably the greatest parental claim to the values, politics, and sciences of the modern West. It witnessed the triumph of Newtonian physics and the demise of miracles; devalued the authority of the Bible; legitimized democratic, nationalist, and feminist politics; dealt devastating blows to the political prerogatives of monarchs, aristocrats and the clergy; attacked torture and the death penalty; and powerfully defended religious toleration, freedom of the press, and human rights. To understand these and other alleged accomplishments of the Enlightenment, we will study the works of the greatest luminaries to frequent the coffeehouses, salons, and secret societies of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, including Kant, Rousseau, Locke, Diderot, Herder, Beccaria, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Spinoza.

Units: 1

Max Enrollment: 25

Prerequisites: None.

Instructor: Grote

Distribution Requirements: HS or REP - Historical Studies or Religion, Ethics, and Moral Philosophy

Typical Periods Offered: Every other year

Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall

Notes: