The Enlightenment and Human Reasoning

The Enlightenment was a cultural movement in Europe during the 18th century, with roots in the late 17th century. The change was a significant force in the early 1700s, lasting until around 1800. The peak was reached in France with Voltaire and the so-called Encyclopaedists. The vitality of this intellectual movement stemmed from science's natural progress and the attendant credibility crisis facing the Christian religion. The principal idea was the firm belief in the human ability to reason.

Following the scientific method, intellectuals began to criticize societal inequities. Therefore, one should not uncritically believe in things that policymakers and other authorities claim. The right way to change the culture would be to gather facts by studying them rationally and addressing injustices to create a more harmonious society of freethinking individuals.

The Scientific Revolution

What is now labeled "big science" also had humble beginnings during the Enlightenment. The Scientific Revolution reached its full bloom in the 1700s. Collecting, classifying, and exploring the world and beyond became essential globally. "Museums, libraries, and scientific institutions flourished, and the educated middle and upper classes became interested in private research in various scientific fields.

Famous coffee houses became very popular in larger cities. People discussed politics, philosophical and scientific ideas, and read newspapers and magazines. Professional scientists, as we know them, were not yet a reality. Amateurs often laid the foundations for what we now consider to be scientific disciplines.

The scientific achievements that characterized the Enlightenment in large parts of Europe mainly originated in Newton's epoch-making work in the scientific field. John Locke should also be mentioned. With Newton, Locke's political views, as presented in Two Treatises of Government, created the foundation stones of the Enlightenment's philosophical and scientific heyday.

Spreading the Ideas

How did these new ideas spread? The increased literacy rate in the 1700s helped bring scientific knowledge to society in a completely different way than before. It must be noted that democratization still had a limited scope, and science's progress was primarily focused on the educated urban population.

Enlightenment and Religion

The Enlightenment philosophers' relationship to religion, in general, and Christianity, in particular, was problematic in many respects. On the one hand, these new ideas turned many against the Church's traditional beliefs, especially Voltaire, who nurtured an intense hatred against the Catholic Church and its authoritarianism. It also forms the background to his famous words "Ecrasez l'infâme" ("Crush the Infamous").

On the other hand, religious criticism rarely reached far beyond the philosopher's circle. It is worth noting that a parallel religious movement took place during the Enlightenment: emotional pietism. The movement soon attracted more and more followers, not only in Lutheran countries. The private, pious, and God-loving individual now had an alternative to the organized Catholic Church.

Enlightened Absolutism

The tragic events following the French Revolution did not occur all over Western Europe. Several monarchs used the era's ideas to better their people's circumstances. The afterworld has pinned enlightened absolutism on those monarchs. They pursued a system based on Montesquieu's separation of powers. Many still regarded the autocratic ruler as a guarantee to prevent the onset of anarchy that would ensue if people were allowed to govern without political experience.

The consequence of this reasoning was that monarchs remained autocratic in many countries, albeit to a lesser extent. They chose to govern their country according to the Enlightenment's philosophical principles, including freedom of the press and religion. Examples of such Enlightened monarchs could be found throughout Europe, from Prussia (Frederick II) and Russia (Catherine the Great) to Sweden, where Gustav III exemplified this type of regent.

Our Take on Enlightened Monarchy

Unixploria is an Enlightened Monarchy, which means we use rationality to enforce reforms in our kingdom. However, we believe the revolutionary ideas that followed the mental paradigm shift took the initial liberating steps too far.

The movement initially offered a fresh new perspective. Religion is necessary, but shouldn't be a public affair. Using science and rational reasoning is also beneficial, but we must not forget the importance of our emotions to human beings.

The House of Oxenmire, the current royal house of Unixploria, has historically favored a moderate approach to governing a nation. Considering that our royal house also believes in the radical ideas that arose during the 1700s, many might view our viewpoint as an anomaly. However, the philosophical and scientific ideas that emerged during the Enlightenment still hold validity today.