The Enlightenment of the long 18th century was an era of awesome intellectual and cultural transformation. This Enlightenment Vision flowchart is pitched at a high level of abstraction, showing schematically how the philosophical revolution of the 17th century led to the 18th-century revolutions in science, technology, politics, and economics — which in turn led to […]
The Enlightenment Vision — updated flowchart Read More »
The Enlightenment of the long 18th century was an era of awesome intellectual and cultural transformation. My Enlightenment Vision flowchart [pdf] is pitched at a high level of abstraction, showing schematically how the philosophical revolution of the 17th century led to the 18th-century revolutions in science, technology, politics, and economics — which in turn led
The Enlightenment Vision — Flowchart Read More »
When did slavery end? Intellectual historian Zeev Sternhell makes the following observation: “But it is above all the French Revolution that is overlooked. Slavery was in fact abolished by the French Revolution. The slaves, like the Jews, were liberated, and for the first time in history, all men living within the frontiers of a single
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[This excerpt is from Chapter 4 of Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault] Hegel on worshipping the state While a student at Tübingen, Hegel’s favorite reading had been Rousseau. “The principle of freedom dawned on the world in Rousseau, and gave infinite strength to man.”[88] As discussed in Chapter Two, Hegel was
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My paired conversations in the Encroaching Darkness series, “The Seeds of Collectivism” and “Encroaching Darkness.” Hosted by Michael O’Fallon and featuring James Lindsay and me in conversation. Description: When you listen to the moral language and rhetoric of our culture today, you less often hear appeals to “personal responsibility” and “rugged individualism” — and more
Encroaching Darkness series: With James Lindsay and Stephen Hicks Read More »
James Lindsay and I focus on the influential Jean-Jacques Rousseau, whose anti-Enlightenment ideology is very much in fashion again after the disasters of Marxist socialism in the 20th century. Bad ideas don’t go away after failure — they get repackaged and re-introduced in other guises. Discussion hosted by Michael O’Fallon. From the description: When you
Is Rousseau now more important than Marx? (With O’Fallon and Lindsay) Read More »
While the world watched France’s revolution, an equally important cultural phenomenon was occurring across the Rhine: “In the year 1789 … nothing else was talked of in Germany but the philosophy of Kant, about which were poured forth in abundance commentaries, chrestomathies, interpretations, estimates, apologies, and so forth.” That’s Heinrich Heine, who also wrote, “Our