Abstract
In this article I present an argument for the thesis that one of the most significant revaluations of the Enlightenment was the creation and popularization of faith in the effective shaping of fate by man himself. In every example the Enlightenment had been referring to the creative possibilities of human reason. However, major differences occurred in understanding this very reason and its application in the praxis between the main representatives of the period. In my remarks I recall just a few of selected representatives of the English, Scottish and French enlightenment philosophy. The broadening of that list with other names, including the representatives of other nations, would allow probably to present much more diversified variants of this Enlightenment faith which since that period is a specific distinguishing mark of modernity.
Highlights
ZBIGNIEW DROZDOWICZ seeking happiness beyond the temporal realm
Eighteenth Century, which constitutes a compendium of knowledge clearly focused on but a single century, one finds references to individuals whose lives and achievements came in the 17th century
The same is true when it comes to such accounts of the philosophical thought of that period which focus on one main inspiring figure – such as in the case of Johnathan Israel’s monograph Radical Enlightenment, which ascribes such a role to B
Summary
Before venturing to present the aforementioned fighters I would like to point out some of the vital differences in the ways of perceiving and representing the Enlightenment period in the existing literature. It leads to its actual rehabilitation, and even to a commandment to become wealthy (“He who is poor in his station should bear it, but if he swore to remain so it would be the same as if he swore to remain sick or to maintain a bad reputation”) Both the theoretical considerations of the puritan theologians and their practical applications on the part of those listening to their sermons and following the commands of the protestant ethics lead to the triumph of the “spirit of capitalism” as well as to such a form of rationalism that can be translated into a calculus of gains and losses.[9] It seems important to note that Weber’s perception and representation of the roads to modernity refers to religious, cultural and mental transformations, and to economic, political as well as legal changes.[10] Such multi-faceted accounts of the transformations of European culture play an especially significant role in arbitrating the arguments over the role which the Enlightenment played in this process. Economy and Society: An Outline of Interpretive Sociology, Berkeley 1978
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