ASSIGNMENT
“ENLIGHTENMENT PHILOSOPHY”
MITHYA A
LCL051511
INTRODUCTION
Unique
but popular collective ideas are always the characteristic of every society
whether past or present. Literature also contributes to the change in society
and perceive people’s mind. In English specific year span constitutes the
changes in literature. Such a way here the topic of discussion is “Enlightenment
philosophy” along with its previous period, neoclassical age and later period
romantic age. Enlightenment is an eighteenth century movement in arts and
science which gives importance to reason. So it is break up from tradition and
conventions, people began to think beyond religion. It is positive sign that
rational thinking dominated the age.
The
major features of Enlightenment philosophy were rationalism, empiricism which
is based on experience, pragmatism or practical thinking and utilitarianism. Enlightenment
was freeing humanity from its earlier belief on mere authority and unexamined
tradition. Enlightenment period is also known as “age of reason” even though
there is different views regarding reason among various thinkers. In political
and economic contexts enlightenment was the rise of liberalism and the French
revolution of 1789, which fostered the discarding the power of king and a shift
to bourgeoisie or middle class. Liberalism was the free rational economy
protected by technology and science.
The idea of rationalism is not new
to eighteenth century, because Plato and Aristotle too advocated reasoning to
acknowledge universal truths. Enlightenment was not a movement restricted to
England but French and Dutch thinkers also contributed to the period. René
Descartes, a French philosopher put forward the philosophy of rationalism. His
concept of “I think, therefore, I am” is popular and influential. There are
many other influential thinkers in enlightenment, like Locke, Hume, Diderot,
Voltaire etc.
Before detailing the characteristics of
enlightenment, it is necessary to understand what happened in early period. The
early period of enlightenment was, Neoclassic. The Neoclassical period
constitutes three major phases; Restoration or the age of Dryden, next is
Augustan age, the major figure of this period was Pope, and the last phase is
Age of Sensibility or Age of Johnson. But it does not mean that in each phase
only one literary figure is overruled. There was also many other important
writers and thinkers. The authors of these period were exhibited a strong
traditionalism which lacked innovation and over emphasis on classical writers.
Actually the term “neoclassic” shows that it was revival of classical. The
classical writers were the established models in all the major literary genres.
The period considered literature as an art, or a set of skills which was
perfected by long study and practice. They upheld that human beings are the
primary subject matter of the major forms of literature because they are the
integral part of social organization.
Human being is the centre of literary works. Two of the central concepts
of neoclassical literary theory were “imitation” and “nature” which were
intimately related. Imitation implies of the external world and human action
and the nature implies collective idea like human nature or harmonious and
hierarchical order of the universe etc.
Later
as a response to neoclassical and enlightenment emerged the Romantic period. So
it is clear that evolution of each period is a kind of response to the former
period. Whether enlightenment is a reply to the negatives of neoclassic age or
romantic age as a corrective to enlightenment, the process of changes in the
society and people goes on. A social and political change reflects in the
intellectual of people as a result it produced in the literature as well.
NEOCLASSICAL PERIOD
The
neoclassical age begins in the early seventeenth century, it ends around 1785.
The specific year span is not possible because, sometimes the enlightenment
period over laps neoclassical age. It is impossible to give a definition to the
period, it may be conflicting. The salient features of neoclassical writings
constitute the overall idea of the period. As mentioned earlier, neoclassic was
the ‘new’ classic. The thinkers of this period advocated ancient writers of
Greece and Rome and their excellence. Neoclassic in a kind, devoted to slavish
imitation of the classics. Neoclassicist was the heirs of Renaissance
humanists. They implied the separation of prose from poetry. The writers’
indebted to classical age, they emphasized classical values such as objectivity,
impersonality, rationality, decorum, balance, harmony, proportion and
moderation. Like enlightenment thinkers, neoclassicists also preached the
ideals of ‘reason’ but it is different, enlightenment thinkers believed in
coercive and oppressive force constituted reason. The neoclassicists believed
reason of the classical philosophers.
Neoclassicism followed
‘standardization’ in all spheres, but it is impossible to keep strict rules and
regulations in creative art. It is also true in that period creativity is
somewhat related to the past legacy. The neoclassicists believed that Homer and
Vergil already discovered and expressed fundamental laws of nature. The modern
writers were obliged to imitate these set of ideas paved by the past. If they
did so they can create excellent works, invention was also allowed as a
modification of past models. Neo classical criticism first originated in France
and then spread to other parts of Europe notably in England. The major figures
of French neoclassicism were Corneille, Racine, Moliere and La Fontaine.
Pierre Corneille (1606-1684)
Pierre
Corneille was the founding figure of neoclassicism in France. His important
literary criticism was Trois Discourse sur le Poeme Dramatique (Three Discourse on Dramatic Poetry, 1660). He was
criticized for violating three unities in his drama Le Cid, and also
Aristotlian perception of probability and necessity and thereby undermined
morally didactic function of drama. Corneille agrees with Aristotle’s view but
he took liberal interpretation of Aristotle’s three unities and didacticism.
Corneille explains that it is easy for critics to be strict in their censure; but
if they themselves practice it they will find difficulty behind it. Corneille’s
view is that; make ancient rules agree with modern pleasures. He perceives
classical views in favour of modern audience. He had the opinion that
literature is not merely meant for instruction, but for entertainment too.
In
England, neoclassicism was inspired by the French example. It was also reaction
against French neoclassicism. Neoclassical criticism in England was not so
systematic; many saw it as integral part of political state. The major figures
of English neoclassicism were Dryden, Pope, Aphra Behn, Samuel Johnson etc.
John Dryden (1631-1700)
Dryden
was a nationalist writer. He popularized English nationalist feeling in his
writings. Language and literature used for inspiring English people. Dryden
also defended English drama against some of the French critics; he advocated
that English should have a theory instead of following French dramatic theory.
Samuel Johnson termed Dryden “the father of English criticism”. Like Corneille,
Dryden attempted to strike a compromise between the claims of ancient authority
and the needs of the modern writer. Dryden with his character Neander, supports
the observation of Corneille that anyone with actual experience of the stage
will see how constraining the classical rules are.
Dryden
was against the strict distinction between genres. His text might be viewed as
expressing a status of transition between neoclassicism and romanticism. If
Dryden is neoclassical, it is in the sense that he acknowledges the classics as
having furnished archetypes of drama; but modern writers, he says, are at
liberty to create their own literary traditions. Dryden considers poetry as a
rational activity with ethical and epistemological responsibility.
Alexander Pope (1688-1744)
Pope’s
An Essay on Criticism contains the clearest
statement of neoclassical principles in any language. An Essay on Criticism is
written in verse. Pope here not only delineates the scope and nature of good
literary criticism, but redefines classical virtues in terms of ‘nature’ and
‘wit’ as necessary to both poetry and criticism. Pope had the opinion that best
poetry and the best criticism are divinely inspired. He put forward guidelines
for a critic, he says, first a critic should recognize overall unity of a work.
A critic should also partial in analyzing a work. Finally a critic needs to
possess a moral sensibility ad sense of balance. It is clear that these
qualities of a good critic are primarily attributes of humanity or moral
sensibility rather than aesthetic qualities. Indeed the only specifically
aesthetic quality mentioned here is ‘taste’. Pope equates the classical
literary and critical traditions with nature, and to sketch a redefined outline
f literary history from classical to his own era. Pope insists that rues of
nature were merely discovered, not invented by the ancients.
Aphra Behn (1640-1689)
Aphra
Behn was one of the founders of English novel. Her novel Oroonko was the first novel against slavery. She was one of the
commercial playwrights, because of her circumstances. Aphra Behn sees herself
as masculine part of her writing. Her experience as a female playwright exposed
her to the numerous obstacles faced by woman in this profession, resulting in
her highly unorthodox and controversial views about drama. Corneille appeal to
experience rather than classical rules, but Behn appeal to experience,
especially female experience. She takes drama basically as a tool of entertainment.
Behn was criticized by her male contemporaries. She replies these criticism by
saying that if women gets the same education as men, are just as capable of
acquiring knowledge and in many capacities as men. She points out that many works of poetry have
treated the subject of women in an indecent fashion, but the offense is
overlooked because man wrote them.
Behn’s
originality lies as much in the way she speaks; her texts adopt a tone and a
style unprecedented in the history of literary criticism. Behn advocate that virtues of good judgment,
critical reading and thinking should be looked beyond the pale of masculine
learning and the conventional male literary establishment. She speaks above
from these establishments and discards male assumptions about women writers.
She says woman’s use the categories of common sense and reason.
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)
Samuel
Johnson is renowned for his two -volume Dictionary
of the English Language. His most famous poem is The Vanity
of Human Wishes, a
speculation on the emptiness of worldly pursuits. He also wrote drama and
fictional work, The History of Rasselas and
essays in periodicals. In his fictional work The History of Rasselas one of the character Imlac’s statements is
considered as the summary of neoclassical principles. The business of the poet,
says Imlac, is to examine, not the individual, but the species; to remark
general properties and large appearances…He is to exhibit in his portraits of
nature such prominent and striking features, as recall the original to every
mind. Johnson’s classical commitment to reason, truth and probability was
complemented by his equally classical insistence on the moral function of
literature. Johnson acknowledges that the greatest excellency of art is to
imitate nature, but which are most proper for imitation. Johnson was also
commented about Shakespeare and his works.
He reaffirms the excellence of Shakespeare’s works and called Shakespeare
as the poet of nature.
THE ENLIGHTENMENT PHILOSOPHY
The
common element of enlightenment was a trust in universal and uniform reason as
adequate to solve the crucial problems, this rationalism was necessary to
overcome darkness of superstition. Enlightenment philosophy is flourished in
all the fields like language, literature, art, religion, and political
theory. The enlightenment thinkers
considered themselves as initiating an era free from feudal caprice, political
absolutism and religious intolerance. The main themes of enlightenment
philosophy continued in our present society too. The seminal figures of
enlightenment philosophy were Bacon, Descartes, and Spinoza. The Enlightenment was, at its center, a
celebration of ideas – ideas about what the human mind was capable of, and what
could be achieved through deliberate action and scientific methodology. Many of
the new, enlightened ideas were political in nature. Intellectuals began to
consider the possibility that freedom and democracy were the fundamental rights
of all people, not gifts bestowed upon them by beneficent monarchs or popes. The
Enlightenment was believed to be the realization of the tools and strategies
necessary to achieve that potential. The Renaissance was the seed, while the
Enlightenment was the blossom. John Locke was the influential figure in
enlightenment philosophy. Actually his theory of empiricism bridges a
connection between enlightenment philosophy and literary criticism.
The
essential beliefs and convictions of Enlightenment thinkers were by and large
committed to writing, thus a fairly accurate sketch of the eighteenth century
mind is available to historians working in this century. Medieval Christian
philosophy acknowledged t that reason was a necessary component of a proper
spiritual disposition, but it was only one element needed to be balanced by
faith and revelation. What was novel to the enlightenment was its insistence on
reason a as the primary faculty through which we could acquire knowledge. The
faith of the Enlightenment is that the process of enlightenment, of becoming
progressively self-directed in thought and action through the awakening of
one's intellectual powers, leads ultimately to a better, more fulfilled human
existence. Enlightenment philosophy tends to stand in tension
with established religion, insofar as the release from self-incurred immaturity
in this age, daring to think for oneself, awakening one's intellectual powers,
generally requires opposing the role of established religion in directing
thought and action.
Enlightenment
thinkers like Locke, Addison, Vico, and Mary Wollstonecraft put forward their new
ideas to popularize the period, some of them philosophically contributed to the
period, whereas some of them protested against the pre-enlightenment period.
The theories like feminism had a root in enlightenment age. Enlightenment is
the process of undertaking to think for one self, to employ and rely on one's
own intellectual capacities in determining what to believe and how to act.
Enlightenment philosophers from across the geographical and temporal spectrum
tend to have a great deal of confidence in humanity's intellectual powers, both
to achieve systematic knowledge of nature and to serve as an authoritative
guide in practical life. So in later period also these thinkers were
influential. Apart from renaissance period quest for scientific knowledge
predominated in the enlightenment period too.
Let us discuss about the major enlightenment figures, such as John Locke,
Joseph Addison etc.
John Locke (1632-1704)
John
Locke is the founding father of British Empiricism, and his thought is often
characterized by tolerance, moderation and common sense. Locke’s philosophy is
still having a position in our mind, empiricism or arriving at truth through
sensations is the principle idea of Locke, we too participating in judgment of
a thing through experience. Locke suggested that use of language in a precise
way will reduce unnecessary confusion in our concepts. He opines that language
is closely connected with thought process so the correct use of language is
necessary. Locke revives the age-old
antagonism between philosophy and poetry. He sees poetry as the realm of
imagination where as philosophy was the absolute and clear judgment and urge to
further knowledge. The former, that is poetry, creates confusion and
conflation, while the latter, philosophy, tended towards clarity. He goes on
detailing the difference between poetry and philosophy, saying one is
figurative language and other is the language of reality etc. Locke defines
language as a “instrument of knowledge” so here the emphasis on language shows
Locke’s concern about language. He says that the imperfection of words lies in
the uncertainty of what they signify.
Locke
had an opinion that a standardized dictionary of all language will clear all
controversies of the period. Locke’s voice is perhaps the most pronounced sign
of the bourgeois refashioning of language into a utilitarian instrument. Locke
was more conscious about language and its criticism. Locke is some extent
similar in the views of Plato. He emphasizes that ‘general’ and ‘universal’ do
not belong to the real existence or things in themselves but it is merely the
creation of human mind. Locke denies the idea of real essence; he says
everything is purely verbal essence or existed in words. For Locke, nature
represents everything through our thought process we create assumptions and
ultimately expresses through the medium of language.
Joseph Addison (1672-1719)
Joseph
Addison with his friend Richard Steele authored a series of article in the
periodicals The Tattler and The Spectator.
Like Plato, Addison is concerned with how a literary work affects its reader,
though unlike Plato he is less concerned with the moral effect of a poem, than
with its aesthetic effect; he is interested more in how a poem ‘delights’ than
in how, or what, it ‘instructs’. Following the mental
philosophy of John Locke, Addison describes two kinds of pleasure in
imagination. Primary pleasure comes from the immediate experience of objects
through sensory perception; secondary pleasure comes from the experience of
ideas, from the presentation of objects (in words or picture) when those
objects are not present. He distinguishes the powers of the
imagination from the powers of reason, noting that while reason investigates
the cause of things, imagination is content with experiencing them, either
directly or through representations. Addison agrees with
Sidney and Bacon that art is not just an imitation of nature, but an
improvement on or completion of it.
In the
periodicals Steele and Addison addresses many issues of that period. The topics
of their writing were nature tragedy, wit, genius, the sublime, and the
imagination. Steele referred to his age as a corrupt age, devoted to luxury,
wealth and ambition not the virtues of good will and friendship etc. Addison
and Steele generally advocate following nature, reason and practice of
ancients. But these notions are contradictory to enlightenment philosophy. Not
only that their views resemble the neoclassical philosophy. Their periodicals
brought to the public sphere so the topics of discussion bring among the society
and people. They created fictional but familiar realistic characters which
later influenced the novels, and Addison also contributed to the development of
essay form.
Giambattista Vico (1668-1744)
Vico’s
major work was New Science first He
published in 1725. He articulated a historical view of the progress of human
thought, language and culture that anticipates the evolutionary perspectives of
Hegel, Marx and others. Vico included in a group of intellectuals who reacted
against central tenets of medieval philosophy and they supported enlightenment
rationalist and empiricist thinking. He urges that “new science” must be
rational civil theology of divine providence. Vico’s insights into poetry form
an integral part of his attempts to explain the origins and development of
human society. Vico sees the progression of wisdom or knowledge as moving from
the senses through reason to revelation. Vico categorized the periods in literature as
period of “gods” and the next is period of “heroes” and the last period is
period of “men”. Vico attributes two important historical functions of poetry;
first one is what he calls “poetic wisdom” it was founded in religious and
civil institutions of primitive people. Next is, poetry provided the embryonic
basis for all further learning.
David Hume (1711-1776)
David
Hume was one of the major figures of the enlightenment philosophy. Hume stress
the idea that rule of art is not an established setting, experience is the
basis for judging a work. True taste according to Hume, is a rational process.
Reasoning helps us to set up the overall idea of a text and its uniformity.
Hume says poetry is nothing but a chain of propositions and reasoning. The poet
himself need taste invention as well as judgment. The standard of taste
according to Hume is subjective and restricted qualified people. In attempting
to rescue artistic taste from mere subjectivism, Hume appeals to a number of
factors, all of which are based on experience.
Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797)
Mary Wollstonecraft is more popular
as feminist writer rather than enlightenment philosopher. She was very much
influenced by the French Revolution of 1789. Wollstonecraft has rightly been
characterized as an enlightenment thinker, propounding argument in favour of
reason and spoke against hereditary privilege and the inequitable apparatus of
feudalism. Wollstonecraft apart from the conventional enlightenment elements,
showed concern for the economic and educational rights of women, expressed in
her best known work A Vindication of the
Rights of Woman. In this work, she addresses to the issues that have
remained crucial to much feminist criticism. Her central argument is that if
woman be not prepared by education to become the companion of man, she will
stop the progress of knowledge and virtue; for truth must be common to all.
Wollstonecraft’s
two central ideas are that not only men but also women have the ‘gift of
reason’ and secondly, no authority can simply coerce women into fulfilling a
given set of duties. What she is essentially appealing to are the enlightenment
principles of reason, duty, freedom, self-determination and even patriotism;
her feminism consists in the demand that these same principles extend to women.
Wollstonecraft recommends national day schools which will be free to all
classes of society, and where both sexes will be educated together. She also
had a national feeling that of Dryden. She says these national schools
cultivate friendship and love between boys and girls. Mary Wollstonecraft is
the female representation of enlightenment society as well as philosophy,
because she views enlightenment in the eyes of a woman, not the literary
figure. So her principles paves base for the development of enlightenment
period’s woman. Later her views are interpreted as feminist, but largely she is
the represent of woman in the enlightenment philosophy.
CONCLUSION
Enlightenment
period created many thinkers and theories. Rationalism is the predominated
theory of this age. But reasoning is differing to each thinker. There are no
well established models or ideology is prevalent in this period. All the ideas
of each philosophers and writers were collectively characterized under the term
‘enlightenment’. The above discussed writers are not the only pioneers of the
period; there are also seminal figures like Kant and Hegel. Both philosophers
contributed to the theory of aestheticism. Kant further contributed to “art for
art’s sake” in his philosophies, later his philosophy is largely influenced the
period, romanticism. Kant said that literature is autonomous and there are no
purposes beyond it, and pleasure is the primary aim in literature. Hegel initially inspired by French
Revolution. Hegel’s thoughts affect two major currents of European intellectual
and social history, the Enlightenment and Romanticism. Hegel is stressing the
supreme idea of reason and the doctrine of empiricism.
From the
over emphasis to rationalism and other objective analysis, the enlightenment
period give way to highly imaginative and subjective period, a period of
transition. The romantic period preached the glory of past life, a kind of
nostalgia, rational thinking discarded in the period. The enlightenment
thinkers had although humanitarian, intellectual and progressive outlook, but
they tried to subjugate both external world of nature and human self. Actually
romantic period was a meant to free these shackles of subjugation.
Enlightenment tried to make progressive individual, free from superstitions and
prejudices and also politically to remove feudal absolutism and religious
intolerance. They are successful in their mission. But it also reduced creative
writing of the period. There are many theories and philosophies predominated in
the enlightenment period, but the numbers of artistic and imaginative works are
less than previous period.
It
was in the fields of philosophy and literature that Romanticism as a broad
response to Enlightenment, Neoclassical and French Revolutionary ideals,
initially took root. Romantic view of literature was an intense individualism
based on authority of experience and often democratic orientation, as well as
optimistic and sometimes utopian belief in progress. Romanticism shared
enlightenment notion of possibility of human achievement and conception of
human nature as good etc. So at an extend Romanticism was response to
Enlightenment and other previous stage, at another hand romanticism took
inspiration from enlightenment.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
·
Abrams, M. H. A Glossary of Literary Terms. Wadsworth: Cengage, 2012. Print
·
Habib, M. A. R. A History of Literary
Criticism: From Plato to the
Present. New Delhi: Blackwell, 2006.
Print
·
Habib, M. A. R. Literary Criticism from Plato
to the Present: AN INTRODUCTION. Singapore: Blckwell, 2011.Print
·
Klages, Mary. Literary Theory: A Guide
for the Perplexed. New York:
Continuum, 2006. Print
