“The State of the Catholicism in Scotland During the Enlightenment”
During the 17th and 18th century a distinct shift in society’s view of the Catholic Church occurred. Before the 17th century Catholicism was the primary religious power in much of the western world. After this century, rational thought and Protestantism became more prevalent. The Enlightenment, a time ruled by intellectual questions and ideas, was the one of the root causes of this significant shift in society’s view of the church. During the Enlightenment one series of values decreased in popularity while another increased. Several of the values that were upheld before the Enlightenment were based in Catholic beliefs while the values that were upheld during and post-Enlightenment were based in rational and skeptical thought. It was during this time that many individuals shifted ways of thinking, but what was the Scottish Enlightenment like for the individuals who remained devout Catholics? How did Catholicism interact with the Scottish Enlightenment and how did 17th and 18th Scottish Society view Catholics?
During the intellectual revolution of the
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Enlightenment, there was a birthing of new thoughts and there was an application of innovative ideas. One specific branch of the Enlightenment that has remained prominent in world history until the present is the Scottish Enlightenment. Several famous thinkers of the Enlightenment were from Scotland and developed numerous fields of study ranging from science to literature. Thinkers such as Dugald Stewart, David Hume, Thomas Reid, Francis Hutcheson and Adam Smith were all part of the Scottish Enlightenment (Sutherland). In 1762 the classic and well-loved French Enlightenment writer, Voltaire, quipped that “today it is from Scotland that we get rules of taste in all the arts, from epic poetry to gardening” (Sutherland). One particularly rich part of the Scottish Enlightenment was the philosophical discourse between various Enlightenment thinkers (Broadie, “Scottish Philosophy in the...”). In the philosophical field, skepticism and rational thought were popular topics of the Enlightenment discussion. During the Enlightenment generally accepted ways of thinking were uprooted and thrown away by many and skepticism and rational thought challenged countless religious traditions and belief. It was these philosophical discussions that initiated the immense shift in society's view of the religious institution of the Catholic Church (Bristow). Philosophical Skepticism is when one questions the validity of everything that is otherwise assumed to be true in society (Klein). An example of a skeptical Scottish Enlightenment thinker, is David Hume. An example of a philosophically skeptic argument is located in“Of Miracles,” an essay written by David Hume’s on the illegitimacy of testimonies about miracles. Hume claims that it is not rational for a person to believe in any given testimony that claims miracles are real. Hume’s argument is that it is only logical to believe in a miracle or really any supernatural event, if it has been witnessed firsthand; he says that miracles are too irrational of a concept to believe just based off of the testimony of another (Broadie 300). Hume points out that the very definition of a miracle is an occurrence that “violates nature” (Broadie 304) and thus it should not be believed unless it would be more irrational not to believe it (ex. Clearly witnessing a miracle and ignoring it just because it created uncomfortable feelings) (Broadie 305). This critical analysis of miracles and testimonies is a perfect example of a philosophical skeptic critiquing and rationally attempting to process a religious practice. Another interesting aspect of philosophical skepticism is the idea that skeptics believe that one cannot even trust in arguments made by skeptics because it is necessary to even question those arguments. That is the very foundation of philosophical skepticism---questioning everything (even the questions). Due to the fact that everything must be questioned, it then follows that solid answers can never be established or believed when one is a philosophical skeptic---the world is full of questions but no fully satisfying answers (Klein). An interesting part of David Hume's “Of Miracles” is regarding his emphasis on the importance of using rational thought. Towards the beginning of the essay Hume says that “a wise man,therefore, proportions his belief to the evidence” (Broadie, “The Scottish Enlightenment…” 301) and by the end his distaste for faith is made clear. Christianity is rooted in faith and faith is not based in rational thought and thus, according to Hume it is “by no means, fitted to endure” (Broadie, “The Scottish Enlightenment…” 315). Hume’s passion for reason is how he comes to the conclusion to dismiss testimonies as proof of miracles. Why believe in possibly untrue testimonies of others when it is far more legitimate to rationally analyze all religious claims and only to trust one’s own personal experiences with religion? Hume emphasizes the importance of finding religious authority in personal experience and reason over finding authority in the church, traditions, or the testimonies of others (Broadie, “The Scottish Enlightenment…” 300). This line of thinking is a perfect example of popular Enlightenment thinking (Bristow). Before the Enlightenment, many sought guidance and direction from the Catholic Church, but as individuals such as David Hume and Adam Smith began to question the Church’s authority, and emphasize the importance of reason, the Church had less power and more authority was given to reason and personal experience (Broadie, “The Scottish Enlightenment…” 298).
According to Immanuel Kant, a very prominent German Enlightenment thinker, the Enlightenment was essentially freedom from immaturity that was brought on by oneself. Kant defines this immaturity as “the inability to use one's own understanding without the guidance of another” (Bristow). This definition exemplifies the underlying driving thought of the enlightenment: that one should value rational thought over the direction and words of others (at this time, specifically the Catholic Church)
(Bristow).
The Enlightenment was a great upheaval in the culture of the colonies- an intellectual movement of the late 17th and 18th centuries which emphasized logic and reason over tradition. Enlightenment thinkers believed that men and women could move civilization to ever greater heights through the power of their own reason. The Enlightenment encouraged men and women to look to themselves, instead of God, for guidance as to how to live their lives and shape society. It also evoked a new appreciation and
Roper, H. R.. The crisis of the seventeenth century; religion, the Reformation, and social change. [1st U.S. ed. New York: Harper & Row, 19681967. Print.
Towards the late 1780s the late German Philosopher Immanuel Kant described the Enlightenment as, “ Man leaving his self caused immaturity” (Spiel Vogel
The Enlightenment (also known as the Age of Reason) is described by scholars a method of thinking and knowing (“epistemology”) based off of the ideas that the natural world is in fact better understood through close observation, as well as dependence on reason. An important note to point out is that the Enlightenment added a more secular environment to colonial life, which had always been based on religion. The ideas of the Enlightenment actually originated in eighteenth century Europe, allowing for the birth of colonial “deists” who often looked for God’s plan in nature more than the Bible as they had in the past. Many of the deists began to look at science and reason to divulge God’s laws and purpose. This period of Enlightenment encouraged people to study the world around them, think for themselves instead of what others had to say, as well as ask whether the chaotic appearances of things were masking a sense of order. The...
The Enlightenment was the time period that followed the Scientific Revolution and was characterized as the "Age of Reason". This was the time when man began to use his reason to discover the world around him rather than blindly follow what the previous authority, such as the Church and Classical Philosophers, stated to be true. The Enlightenment was a tremendously broad movement that dominated much of the European thinking during the 18th century, however, several core themes that epitomized the movement were the idea of progress, skepticism against the Church, and individualism.
Enlightenment was a term, which was used to describe a new philosophy of life. "It was a time when man, stepping, out of his shackles, began to use his rational facilities … and shoved aside the state and church authorities."2 Individuals began to rely on their own instincts in order to realize that there were certain civil liberties that should be provided to them, that they were not receiving. Religious freedom was one of these civil liberties....
The Enlightenment is a unique time in European history characterized by revolutions in science, philosophy, society, and politics. These revolutions put Europe in a transition from the medieval world-view to the modern western world. The traditional hierarchical political and social orders from the French monarchy and Catholic Church were destroyed and replaced by a political and social order from the Enlightenment ideals of freedom and equality(Bristow, 1). Many historians, such as Henry Steele Commager, Peter Gay, have studied the Enlightenment over the years and created their own views and opinions.
The Enlightenment was a period in European culture and thought characterized as the “Age of Reason” and marked by very significant revolutions in the fields of philosophy, science, politics, and society (Bristow; The Age of Enlightenment). Roughly covering the mid 17th century throughout the 18th century, the period was actually fueled by an intellectual movement of the same name to which many thinkers subscribed to during the 1700s and 1800s. The Enlightenment's influences on Western society, as reflected in the arts, were in accordance with its major themes of rationalism, empiricism, natural rights and natural law or their implications of freedom and social justice.
Kant, Immanuel. “An Answer to the Question: What is Enlightenment?”. The Longman Anthology Of World Literature Vol D 2nd Edition. April Alliston. Pearson, 2009. 599-604. Print
In his essay writing “What is Enlightenment?” Immanuel Kant defines enlightenment as “man’s emergence from his self-imposed immaturity” (Kant, 1). In order for us to completely understand this definition, we must first understand what Kant meant by “Immaturity”. In the writing Kant defines immaturity as “the inability to use one’s understanding without the guidance from another”(Kant, 1). Furthermore, Kant believes that this immaturity is self-imposed, and that it is the individual’s fault for lacking the courage and resolve to think for themselves, but instead pay others to think and understand for them. I substantially agree with this idea, however, his remarks on immaturity in relation to the government, the way people should live, and religion is quite impetuous and irrational. Likewise, I do agree that people should be able to live freely, and think for themselves, however I do not agree that they have to live without rules, regulations or a government. In his essay Kant says “. If I have a book to serve as my understanding, a pastor to serve as my conscience, a physician to determine my diet for me, and so on, I need not exert myself at all. I need not think, if only I can pay: others will readily undertake the irksome work for me.”(Kant, 1). Kant believes that these guardians restrain our minds and have us lack the capabilities to think for ourselves. However, I believe that these same guardians are those entities that help nurture our mind and enable us to think for ourselves. How could books, the source of wisdom, knowledge, and new things be bad for us? There is nothing wrong with gaining new knowledge.
As Kant would put it, “Enlightenment is man’s emergence from his self-imposed immaturity” (Kant 1784, p. 1). However, what does this truly mean? Kant says that this said immaturity is not due to man’s lack of understanding, but rather man’s lack of courage and confidence to use his understanding willingly and without the direction of others. In other words, Enlightenment to Kant is to resist authority and tradition, allowing us to think for ourselves. “’Have courage to use your own understanding!’—that is the motto of enlightenment” (Kant 1784, p. 1).
Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher in the 18th century, composed an essay titled “What is Enlightenment” in 1784, which discusses why there is a lack of enlightenment in the world and what needs to occur to achieve enlightenment in the lives of everyone. Kant believes that enlightenment is accomplished when a man releases himself from depending on the opinions of others and then becomes capable of fully making his own decisions. He then expands on this further by stating that individuals need to “Have courage to use your own reason!”, meaning an individual must be past the stage of immaturity and be fully capable of having courage and being independent for others. Kant then addresses what may happen to immature individuals whom are not enlightened. These people are effortlessly influenced by others so much that they will have an increased difficulty when attempting to compose their own opinions, actions, and thoughts.
Jesse, I agree that this was a bad time for faith and religion. The different ideas and interpretations of Christianity divided the people and caused a great deal of conflict. I believe that that the Enlightenment should have had more of an impact because it could be used by more than one group of people. It could have been used by any of the Christian denominations (although it does go against some of the more strict denominations), Muslims, Jews, atheist, or any other religion. Enlightenment encouraged people to grow and be more open minded, so it would have been more peaceful since religious tolerance was included in being open minded. A person could still be religious, but the enlightenment allowed for people to grow individually since it was all about thinking outside of the norm and seeking knowledge to better one self and society. It is hard to tell which movement had a greater influence since aspects of both can still be seen today. Religion is still controversial, but there are no longer battles in the church.
Society considered the idea of enlightenment a threat prior to its beginnings. The majority of people in society were accustomed to adhering to established ideas. Kant describes this phenomenon as following “formulas” (17). Formulas are the central principles
Samantha Lewis 6-7 November 30, 2015 Review Guide: Renaissance Reformation and Enlightenment Timeline 1300-1450 CE Italian Renaissance 1500-1600 CE “Commercial Revolution” 1517 CE Luther’s 95 theses; Protestant Reformation begins 17th Century Scientific Revolution 1618-1648 CE Thirty Years War 18th Century Enlightenment 1776 CE Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations Vocabulary Chapter 15 1. The Renaissance was a time period, which followed after the Middle Ages, that took place in Western Europe.