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The Enlightenment Paperback – February 8, 1991

by Norman Hampson (Author)

4.1 23 ratings

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Armed with the insights of the scientific revolution, the men of the Enlightenment set out to free mankind from its age-old cocoon of pessimism and superstition and establish a more reasonable world of experiment and progress. Yet by the 1760s, this optimism about man and society had almost evaporated. In the works of Rousseau, Kant and Goethe, there was discernible a new inner voice, and an awareness of individual uniqueness which had eluded their more self-confident predecessors. The stage was set for the revolutionary crisis and the rise of Romanticism. In this book, Norman Hampson follows through certain dominant themes in the Enlightenment, and describes the contemporary social and political climate, in which ideas could travel from the salons of Paris to the court of Catherine the Great - but less easily from a master to his servant. On such vexed issues as the role of ideas in the "rise of the middle class" he provides a new and realistic approach linking intellectual and social history.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books (February 8, 1991)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0140137459
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0140137453
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.9 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.14 x 0.75 x 7.72 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #3,381,716 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #33,469 in History of Philosophy & Schools of Thought
- #365,656 in History (Books)

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4.1 23 ratings

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Chris

Well-written Summary of the Enlightenment

Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2024

The author, a historian at the University of York, summarizes the Enlightenment in this well-written, brief (280 pages) summary.

The author argues that the Enlightenment emerged at the beginning of the 1700s, in the aftermath of Francis Bacon's development of the scientific method, Isaac Newton's advances in physics, and John Locke's work on human nature. Although difficult to precisely define, the Enlightenment was the intellectual period that covered most of the 18th Century in Europe and rejected traditional religion, folklore, superstition, and traditionalism as modes of knowledge, and in their place emphasized rationality, skepticism, and science.

Although the Enlightenment thinkers initially emphasized the role that a supreme being / god / providence must play in the universe, scientific advancements gradually reduced the need for god as an explanation. Interestingly, the author argues that geology was the scientific discipline that did the most to reduce the intellectual sway of religion, as geology showed that Noah's flood did not occur and the Earth was substantially older than the 6,000 years claimed by Biblical literalists.

However much they may have rejected traditional religion, the Enlightenment thinkers were still products of their era. Although they gradually lost the traditional belief that the world was static, they still held on to ideas of natural harmony. By the end of the 1700s, thinkers such as Rousseau were arguing that existing society had perverted natural harmony, but by looking within individuals could be guided by the natural inclination to what is right, and a just society would uplift and promote the individual's call to follow the universal conscience.

Interestingly, the author argues that the Enlightenment was not a major force in the French Revolution. Instead, the author argues that the increased number of European wars in the second half of the 1700s required monarchs to increase taxes on the aristocracy. This resulted in push back from the aristocrats, who sought to defend their traditional privileges and occasionally used Enlightenment thinkers to buttress their arguments. In France, social tensions exploded in the 1790s, and individuals from across the political spectrum made reference to Enlightenment ideals. However, the author argues that the Enlightenment thinkers were themselves primarily intellectuals, and were not especially focused on politics. Further, the Enlightenment thinkers tended toward a conservative view that existing society was naturally, justly ordered and that intellectualism and free thought belonged to a small upper class, not the masses. That said, the Enlightenment thinkers did view the upper class as consisting of more than just the hereditary nobility, and also capturing merchants and white-collar professionals.

I deduct one star because, while generally well-written, the author's explanations occasionally become muddled and hard to follow.

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gwest

which gives evidence to the fact Montesquieu married a Calvinist and respected John Calvin a great deal. The author only quoted Montesquieu from his ...

Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2018

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The author embarrassed himself by painting Montesquieu as a enlightenment liberal. He forgot to quote from his more popular Spirit of Laws, which gives evidence to the fact Montesquieu married a Calvinist and respected John Calvin a great deal. The author only quoted Montesquieu from his early writings, yet Montesquieu changed his views immensely later in life. This book is a perfect example of an author inserting his own views to portray Montesquieu.

One person found this helpful

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doc peterson

A good introduction to the thinkers of the age

Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2005

Hampson's treatment of the Enlightenment is encyclopedic as he attempts to show it as the intellectual foundation of modern thought. In this, he succeeds. As a previous reviewer noted, Hampson also attempts to encourage the reader to take on the acutal sources by the thinkers themselves. In this, he misses his mark.

The book is divided into two sections: 1715 - 1740 and 1740 - 1789. The first half looks at the effects of the Scientific Revolution on European thought with specific attention given to Locke, Newton, Montesquieu and Voltaire; the second half examines Linneaus, Rousseau, Diderot, Smith and Kant. His summary and observations of these intellecutals is excellent - which, of course makes it difficult to convince readers to tackle their work first-hand.

It is not light reading, geared probably towards the serious student of history. But is is worthwhile, and it may in fact whet the reader's appetite for more.

6 people found this helpful

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Griengruttel

Dull reading for nothing

Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2012

The book gives an impressive number of names and titles of the actors in the XVIIIth century, but without any reference. Not a single quote is referenced an the reading is really dry, dull, simply enumerating political, economic and bibliographical facts.
At the end of the book, the author presents some adversaries of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. He simply calls Joseph de Maistre "mentally ill" (p.264), and don't take any of these persons serious. By reading this book, you will pass some hard time for reading a book that doesn't help you to understand the Enlightenment, nor the context.

Don't spill your money for this book. This work of Hampson hasn't any scientific value. I recommend all the works of Isaiah Berlin instead.

2 people found this helpful

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W.T. Oosterveld

Nice introduction to the Enlightenment

Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2000

In this book, prof. Hampson attempts to discuss a number of very diverse topics within the movement of the Enlightenment. This makes the book very interesting but perhaps also unclear in the purpose of the chosen structure and the subjects of the book. Because it tries to span the entire 18th century in only 300 or so pages, it is bound to run into unhelpful generalisations and creating a lack of coherence of the general subject discussed. Yet the book supplies some interesting insights into the Enlightenment not found elsewhere. However, for those looking for the broader historical view of the period of the Enlightenment, I would recommend turning to W. and A. Durant's "The Age of Voltaire" and "Rousseau and Revolution", which are huge but exhaustive in historical background, while for the philosophical perspective, one should turn to Peter Gay's "The Enlightenment, an Interpretation". Thus, Hampson's book is a good starting point, but not much more than that I'm afraid.

6 people found this helpful

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Jody Coughlin

Five Stars

Reviewed in Canada on December 11, 2016

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Exactly what I was expecting. Thanks!

Edward B. Crutchley

The age of reasonableness

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 22, 2015

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A novice will struggle with the nitty-gritty of the ideas coming from Newton and Locke to other key protagonists such as Descartes, Voltaire, Diderot, Maupertuis, Montesquieu, Hume, Hoblach, and numerous others. However, the author paints a very readable picture of the lead-up to, ambience, and aftermath of the Enlightenment and its key thinkers as they exploited contemporary mediatic opportunities such as coffee houses and a growing printing industry in which publishers became a new breed looking for opportunity. He describes the age as one of reasonableness, as men wrestled with the growing realisation that scientific phenomena and exploration could explain what had hitherto been attributed to divine intervention. To quote, “Science . . . seemed to have dispensed with the Middle-Age need for God as a necessary factor in the explanation of the universe”. The empirical age denoted the shift between soul and body, from the belief in original sin to man being guided by beneficent providence. He makes as astonishing claim: “Most people – for the first time, perhaps, in modern history – preferred their own age to any that had gone before.” Superstition, the Inquisition, and trials for witchcraft saw their demise. Maupertuis said “If we think we know anything, this is merely because of our extreme ignorance”, and around mid-eighteenth century arrived a rescuing drive towards mind over matter, away from the domination of science and reason towards a cult of sensibility, of sentiment, emotional writing, moral duty, genius and individuality, the recognition that passion, imagination and conscience should take precedence. Instead of man having to conform with society, society should conform with man. However, clouds grew. Social order remained static, the rabble remained unenlightened, and the drive towards a truly cosmopolitan society in Europe met, for example, with the contradiction that the period was marked by a dramatic fall in the number of books printed in universal language (Latin). The arrival of wars meant that monarchies had to widen the net of taxation to include the hitherto privileged classes and the Church, there was resistance to this, and Europe descended into revolution by the educated but unprivileged classes, and eventually the masses.

11 people found this helpful

Sparrow Kelly

Disappointed

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 2, 2022

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The book is far too short to do justice to the subject. Key issues are glossed over or omitted.

ian hays

I sent this important little book to my step-granddaughter: ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 23, 2014

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I sent this important little book to my step-granddaughter: it's clear that people in the 21st century would do well to see what the "Enlightenment" did for those living it! Since then we might have done so much more culturally, artistically in the UK rather than failing in the arts and humanities so badly.

2 people found this helpful

ella evans

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 5, 2018

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good

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