His 102 Week 6 Content: Absolute Monarchs And The Enlightenm

His 102 Week 6 Contentabsolute Monarches And The Englightened Public S

Europe developed powerful kings who claimed a divine right to rule, but it also developed critics of these monarchs and the critiques spawned a political, scientific, and cultural revolution of ideas with lasting implications. Readings include Bossuet's "The Theory of Divine Right," Rousseau's "The Social Contract," the English Bill of Rights, Newton's "Using a Prism," Kant's "What is Enlightenment?", Wollstonecraft's "Vindication of the Rights of Women," and Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz's selected poems. Additionally, there is a bonus activity involving identifying errors in a provided reading excerpt about a king on a horse.

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The period between the 17th and 18th centuries marked a profound transformation in European political thought and societal structures, driven by the rise of absolute monarchies and the burgeoning Enlightenment. Absolute monarchs, such as Louis XIV of France, claimed divine right as the basis for their authority, asserting that their power was granted directly by God and thus unquestionable. This ideology was articulated effectively by Jacques-Benigne Bossuet, who championed the divine right of kings, reinforcing the idea that monarchs were God's representatives on earth and their authority was sacrosanct (Upshur, 11.6). However, this view was increasingly challenged by emerging critics who emphasized reason, individual rights, and the social contract as alternative foundations for political legitimacy.

The Enlightenment catalyzed a shift in how people thought about governance, authority, and human rights. Jean-Jacques Rousseau's "The Social Contract" argued that legitimate political authority derived from the consent of the governed, emphasizing the importance of individual freedom and collective sovereignty (Upshur, 11.7). This was a direct challenge to the divine right theory, promoting the idea that governments should serve the interests of the people, not just the divine or monarchic prerogative. These ideas inspired calls for constitutional limits on royal power, exemplified by the English Bill of Rights, which established parliamentary sovereignty and constrained monarchical authority, marking an important step toward constitutional monarchy and democratic governance (Upshur, 11.11).

The scientific revolution further influenced public ideas about authority and knowledge. Isaac Newton's work with optics and mathematics demonstrated that nature operated according to measurable laws, shifting the perception that the universe was governed by divine or mystical forces to one of natural laws and scientific inquiry (Upshur, 11.12). This new understanding fostered an Enlightenment emphasis on reason and empirical evidence as the paths to truth, profoundly impacting political philosophy and encouraging skepticism toward absolute power and religious authority.

Philosophers like Immanuel Kant culminated the Enlightenment intellectual movement by questioning traditional authority and urging individuals to think independently—what Kant famously described as "sapere aude," or "dare to know" (Upshur, 11.12). Mary Wollstonecraft contributed to this discourse by advocating for women's rights, asserting that rationality and moral agency are universal qualities, thus challenging the hierarchies that justified the marginalization of women (Upshur, 11.13). Moreover, Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz exemplified the intellectual engagement of women in this period, using poetry to critique societal and religious restrictions imposed on women's education and agency.

This epoch was marked by tension between the absolute claims of monarchy and the Enlightenment ideals of reason, individual rights, and political legitimacy. The critiques of absolute monarchs laid the groundwork for revolutionary movements, such as the American and French revolutions, which embraced Enlightenment principles to justify the overthrow of oppressive regimes. The debates and conflicts during this period had lasting implications for the development of modern democratic states, emphasizing the importance of citizens' rights and the limitation of arbitrary authority. Overall, the interplay of monarchical authority and Enlightenment critique shaped a transformative era that redefined governance, knowledge, and individual agency.

References

• Upshur, J. (Year). Envisioning World Civilizations. [Edition/Publisher details]
• Bossuet, J.-B. (1693). The Theory of Divine Right. In E. J. Dijk (Ed.), Bossuet's Political and Religious Thought.
• Rousseau, J.-J. (1762). The Social Contract. Gallimard.
• Bill of Rights, 1689. UK Parliament Archives.
• Newton, I. (1687). Principia Mathematica. Royal Society.
• Kant, I. (1784). What is Enlightenment?. Berlin Academy of Sciences.
• Wollstonecraft, M. (1792). A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. J. Johnson.
• Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz. (1691). Selected Poems. Translated by [Name].
• Smith, A. (1776). The Wealth of Nations. W. Strahan and T. Cadell.
• Harvey, W. (1628). Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis et Sanguinis in Animalibus.