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Analysis Of The Age Of Enlightenment

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Questioning, researching and trying to learn more is a method that improves the individual, their society and future societies. A superior example of this is the Age of Enlightenment. This was a period of time, during the late 17th and 18th century in Europe, when people were questioning traditional ways of living and knowing. The Enlightenment was a time that emphasized individualism and reason in place of tradition. This was also when people questioned religious, economic and social issues, especially the philosophers. Specifically, the philosophers were people who wanted to discover new ways to understand and improve their society. The main idea of the Enlightenment philosophers was to give the individual freedom in all aspects of their …show more content…

Voltaire discusses his view of many religions in his book entitled Letters Concerning the English Nation. He evaluates the awful results when only one or two religions are present and then he explains, “... but as there are such a multitude, they all live happy and in peace” (Voltaire). In other words, the philosopher means that if individuals have the freedom to choose the religion they believe in, it allows all the people to live happily and in peace. In the long run, this supports the main idea, because by giving the individual the power to make their own decision, it adds to the amount of liberty the individual …show more content…

In the book, A Vindication of the Rights of Women, written by Mary Wollstonecraft’s, she talks about her view of making women and men equal. She states, “To render [make] mankind more virtuous, and happier of course, both sexes must act from the same principle;... women must be allowed to found their virtues on knowledge” (Wollstonecraft). This shows Wollstonecraft’s egalitarian beliefs. She explained that to make men and women equal, they must treat women the same as men and give women the freedom to have an education and gain knowledge. By giving women the same rights as men, the state of equality is possible and they have the same amount of freedom. Wollstonecraft also divulged, “Make them free, and they will quickly become wise and virtuous…” (Wollstonecraft). This is a reason she gives as to why making women free will be beneficial. All in all, Wollstonecraft’s concept of giving women freedom, connect back to the main idea of the philosophers to give the individual

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The Era of Enlightenment was a cultural movement in Europe that favored reason in place of belief. It challenged the accepted views of the time which, in turn, endangered the power of absolute rulers and their system of government. This era influenced a majority of the European population, however, the monarchs of the time did not exemplify those same ideals. Catherine II of Russia’s views on serfs and peasants are a great example of a ruler defying the enlightenment movement. In her “Decree on Serfs” she states that “serfs and peasants...owe their landlords proper submission and absolute obedience in all matters” , essentially saying that serfs of the time should be completely obedient to their masters (Doc. 6).

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Wollstonecraft strongly believed,“...both sexes must act from the same principle…” (Doc D) Wollstonecraft strongly wanted both sexes to follow the same criteria and be given the same educational rights, so that women could be wiser and more virtuous. Wollstonecraft and Locke both believed that all should be equal and this supports that women are one of the groups besides religion that were not given as many rights as others. She also thought,“... women must be allowed to found their virtue on knowledge...to full fill their peculiar duties...to free them from all restraint…”

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Philosophers believed that men act like tyrants and act immature so they need to change their ways. In Document F-1 Mary Wollstonecraft says “But if women are to be excluded, without having a voice, from participation of the natural rights of mankind, prove first, to ward of the charge… there is not a shadow of justification for not admitting women under the same.” Wollstonecraft is fighting for equality, believes the only reason women are not equal is based off of old tradition, and it is time for change.

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Philosophes presented a plethora of ideas that eventually sparked change in the world. Wollencraft rallied for women to vote and have the same rights as men. In beginning of Doc F , she makes evident her purpose: “it be not inconsistent and unjust to subjugate women” (Doc F). This ideal is prominent in our society today as many men and women are fighting for the equality of women.

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Voltaire believed that a working society includes all religions. Having many religions kept the society at peace and happy. “If one religion only were allowed in England, the government would very possibly become arbitrary; if there were but two, the people would cut one another’s throats; but as there are such a multitude, they all live happy and in peace” (Doc B). He also thought that with many religions, it kept the government from becoming too controlling. Voltaire wanted to advance society with religious

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In her document she claims that, “Women must be allowed to found their virtue on knowledge, which is scarcely possible unless they be educated by the same pursuits as men”(Wollstonecraft, On National Education). Wollstonecraft dynamically argued that if women had the right to study, they’d be able to prove they aren’t inferior by ignorance and low desires. Despite the fact that these four philosophers had contrasting ideas on how to enhance daily life, they all concentrated the same central idea. They each contributed something unique to their society, which has influenced our daily

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When Mary Wollstonecraft wrote A Vindication of The Rights of Woman, she was stating the fact that not all women were happy with their place in the society at that day and time. One of the main reasons that she initially wrote the book was because of the teachings of Jean Jacques Rousseau. Rousseau believed that women only existed to serve men because they were much weaker. Back then, many people believed that men and women were two completely different species which, in turn, that meant that they should be treated differently. Mary believed that a women should be educated the same way that a man was, as well as being able to work the same way a man could.

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In the book of vindication of the right of a woman, Wollstonecraft brings out clearly the roles of a woman in her society and how it has led to oppression of women (Wollstonecraft 22). Wollstonecraft believes that men and women are equal given the same environment and empowerment, women can do anything a man can do. In her society, education for women is only aimed at making her look pleasing to men. Women are treated as inferior being and used by men as sex objects. Wollstonecraft believed that the quality of mind of women is the same with that of men, and therefore women should not be denied a chance for formal education that will empower them to be equal with men.

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In conclusion, the Enlightenment was vital to the American Revolution and the creation of American Government. The Enlightenment beliefs that influenced the American Revolution were natural rights, the social contract, and the right to overthrow the government if the social contract was violated. The Enlightenment beliefs that aided to the creation of the American government were separation of powers, checks and balances, and limited government. As stated before, without the Enlightenment there would not have been a revolution, resulting in no American Government. The Enlightenment’s influence on the creation of America is irrefutable.

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Mary Wollstonecraft’s A vindication of the rights of women written in 1792 can be considered one of the first feminist documents, although the term appeared much later in history. In this essay, Wollstonecraft debates the role of women and their education. Having read different thinkers of the Enlightenment, as Milton, Lord Bacon, Rousseau, John Gregory and others, she finds their points of view interesting and at the same time contrary to values of the Enlightenment when they deal with women’s place. Mary Wollstonecraft uses the ideas of the Enlightenment to demand equal education for men and women. I will mention how ideals of the Enlightenment are used in favor of men but not of women and explain how Wollstonecraft support her “vindication” of the rights of women using those contradictions.

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Wollstonecraft’s Vindication of the Rights of Woman Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman was written during the period of French Revolution in late 1970s. Here she argues about the importance of women in the society by analyzing the inauthentic aspect of the women, which makes them mysterious, graceful, weak, and childlike. For Wollstonecraft, reason is essential for development of virtuous nature, and comes from the education. As a result being deprived of education and constantly being shaped by the culture, women lack rationality. Society always looks at women with a special eye, which is not the case for men.

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Mary Wollstonecraft is a woman known particularly for her avocation of women’s rights. The book A Vindication of the Rights of Women, With Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects in today’s time is considered to be the first book written on the idea of feminism and expressed the ideals of feminist ideas. This book specifically addresses the need for women to be educated alongside men, and the nature of gender differences. There have been in the past others who have took a stand on this issue, but Wollstonecraft shaped an exposition for the women in her generation of Britain, who dealt with oppression that limited their chance in society, and restricted them to the household where women were placed. This essay will discuss Wollstonecraft’s

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In Wollstonecraft’s Vindication of the Rights of Women, she questions the place of a woman in society. She writes in the 18th century, at a time of women oppression. Her argument is both passionate and logical, as she persuades the reader to reconsider the role of a woman in society. As a woman herself, she is able to give insight into the thoughts and desires of a woman. However, she is also careful to consider the place of men in society and what their role should be.

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In this work, Wollstonecraft states that women accept that the tasks they need to perform are different from those of men; but the principles governing the way which these tasks are carried out must be the same because all of these tasks are human-specific tasks. However, there are differences between women and men in practice. Compared to men, women have always been trained as suspects, sussees, and smokers because they have received poorer education. The Wollstonecraft against this practice, 'Equal educational opportunities for girls and boys', 'Equal political and social rights for women and men', 'Opening of all schools and universities both gods', 'Women's man's understanding of his

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Wollstonecraft wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Woman in response to a report to the French National Assembly, which stated that women should only receive a domestic education (Johnson Lewis). She believed that women needed to be educated in order to find their way to equality with men. Wollstonecraft writes in the introduction: “The education of women has, of late, been more attended to than formerly; yet they are still reckoned a frivolous sex, and ridiculed or pitied by the writers who endeavor by satire or instruction to improve

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