the Enlightenment

[1/4 stick]

Just my notes, there's a lot more to it in the course. It's interesting how far back the base principles of our Constitution were being thought of. Makes me understand why so many countries around the world hate the U.S. I think it's because our system does work. If people leave it alone and quit trying to change and amend things... it does work!!!!

World History – the Enlightenment
- Ancient Greeks used logic to reach their conclusions, and developed theories about nature, politics, and many other topics.
- An example of a Greek accomplishment is Ptolemy’s geocentric model of the universe; which held that Earth was the center of the universe.
- The ancient Greeks influenced the Romans
- As Christianity grew powerful during the Roman and Holy Roman empires reason was used to explain religious beliefs. This was called scholasticism.
- During the Renaissance, the humanist movement was inspired by the writings of ancient Greek & Roman scholars.
- Humanists ignored Christian explanations for nature and believed nature could be controlled.
- Religious scholars during reformation challenged the Roman Catholic Church to reform – resulting in the formation of new branches of Christianity and a decline in the power of the Roman Catholic Church.
• The use of logic, reason, and knowledge to explain established ideas resulted in a period known as the Scientific Revolution.
- Scientists required proof before accepting theories as fact.
- Many scientific discoveries were made in this period. The success of the Scientific Revolution inspired scholars of the Enlightenment.
- Galileo developed the heliocentric theory that the sun was the center of the universe.
• Enlightenment thinkers questioned traditional ideals by using reason & knowledge to explain their beliefs.
- They were certain they could use reason to solve all human problems and improve people’s lives.
- This revolution encouraged people to question nearly every aspect of life, including human nature, rules of society, and accepted forms of government.
• Thomas Hobbes & John Locke were two early Enlightenment thinkers who suggested a structure for the ideal form of government.
- John Locke believed in natural rights, such as life, liberty, and the right to own property.
- Hobbes believed government should be strong, but just.
- Both philosophers believed in the social contract, in which people give up individual freedom to live in an organized society.
- Their ideas inspired the Glorious Revolution in England & many other reforms.
• Enlightenment philosophers, called philosophes, emphasized the importance of reason, nature, happiness, progress, and liberty. They believed science & reason could improve people’s lives.
• Voltaire wrote about the natural laws of government and fought for citizen rights, especially the freedom of speech. He was exiled and sent to prison because his writings offended the government.
• Baron de Montesquieu believed that power should be divided among different parts of the government “The Separation of Powers”. He also developed the principle of checks & balances.
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau wrote about the social contract; an agreement between the government and its citizens.
• Cesare Beccaria examined the laws of the justice system and believed that punishment should fit the crime.
 The enlightenment inspired England’s Glorious revolution, American Revolution, and the French revolution, as well as the resulting governments.
- The Glorious revolution & American Revolution occurred first, making the French monarchy nervous by the trend toward government reform.
- The Glorious revolution caused the British monarchy to rule with Parliament’s participation.
- The United States Constitution is heavily influenced by the beliefs of enlightenment philosophers.
• Adam Smith, a physiocrat, was an economist who believed that government should not interfere with the economy.
• Enlightenment ideas spread quickly through pamphlets, salons, and the creation of the Encyclopedie.
• The Encyclopedie was created to encourage the use of reason & knowledge to overcome ignorance.
• Many areas of society were affected by Enlightenment ideas of equality & liberty, especially the women’s movement.
• Mary Wollstonecraft led the women’s rights movement and called for equal education for boys & girls.
• Government reactions to the Enlightenment were mixed. Many rulers and church officials resisted the movement.
• Other rulers, called enlightenment despots, embraced the new theories. They reformed their political, legal, and economic systems to reflect Enlightenment ideals.
• Art was influenced by the Enlightenment. The elaborate Baroque style gave way to the elegant and simple Rococo style of art.
• Classical musicians also were affected by the Enlightenment, finding freedom of movement inspiring.
• Novels also became popular in this era. Fictional tales that related more to the common person were inspired by Enlightenment ideals.

[MississippiBoy]

I took 2 history classes in college, Western Civ I and II. I thoroughly enjoyed them, especially the ancient history; Greeks, Romans, Syrians, Babylonians....

[1/4 stick]

I do enjoy the history. My only problem with it is the coverage of religion in the text book. There's maybe 3 pages about Christianity, (1 page in Roman chapter, 2 pages in religion chapter which is mostly pictures) 1 page each on Buddhism, Judaism, and Confucianism. 2 pages on Islam in the religion chapter, and a chapter totally devoted to Islam. The teacher skipped past it for that very reason. Said he wasn't going to spend that much time on one religion when they neglect all the others.

[MississippiBoy]

I heard on the radio yesterday about a big conflict over World History book that's part of the curriculum at a high school somewhere. There's apparently no mention of Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Shintoism, or any other major religion, but there's 32 pages dedicated to Islam. Some parents are protesting it, saying that either the school spends an equal amount of time on other religions, or they'll have their kids tear out that entire chapter from their books.
Wonder if that's the same book.....

[joedog]

http://www.news-journalonline.com/ar...24?tc=obinsite


Check the 'related links' on the left side.

What happened to seperating church and state?

Oh and in Turkey....

Secularism in Turkey defines the relationship between religion and state in the country of Turkey. Secularism (or laicity) was first introduced with the 1928 amendment of the Constitution of 1924, which removed the provision declaring that the "Religion of the State is Islam", and with the later reforms of Turkeys first president Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, which set the administrative and political requirements to create a modern, democratic, secular state, aligned with Kemalism.

Nine years after its introduction, laïcité was explicitly stated in the second article of the then Turkish constitution on February 5, 1937. The current Constitution of 1982 neither recognizes an official religion nor promotes any. This includes Islam, to which at least nominally more than 99% of its citizens subscribe.[1]

Turkey's "laïcité" does not call for a strict separation of religion and the state, but describes the state's stance as one of "active neutrality." Turkey's actions related with religion are carefully analyzed and evaluated through the Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı or simply Diyanet). The duties of the Presidency of Religious Affairs are "to execute the works concerning the beliefs, worship, and ethics of Islam, enlighten the public about their religion, and administer the sacred worshipping places".[2]

[1/4 stick]

Originally Posted by MississippiBoy

I heard on the radio yesterday about a big conflict over World History book that's part of the curriculum at a high school somewhere. There's apparently no mention of Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Shintoism, or any other major religion, but there's 32 pages dedicated to Islam. Some parents are protesting it, saying that either the school spends an equal amount of time on other religions, or they'll have their kids tear out that entire chapter from their books.
Wonder if that's the same book.....

Different book, but the same publisher I think.