1 00:00:00,920 --> 00:00:04,400 Speaker 1: Welcome to you Stuff you Should Know from House Stuffworks 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:13,360 Speaker 1: dot com. Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh Clark, 3 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:18,119 Speaker 1: There's Charles W. Chuck Bryant, and Jerry Are. So this 4 00:00:18,239 --> 00:00:22,239 Speaker 1: is stuff you should know. The Enlightened Ones exactly, the 5 00:00:22,320 --> 00:00:26,960 Speaker 1: three of us, no one else, No, we're the Enlightened Ones. 6 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:31,000 Speaker 1: I am gonna go ahead and preface this what what 7 00:00:31,040 --> 00:00:33,640 Speaker 1: I just said off the air. This is a very 8 00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:37,000 Speaker 1: tough subject to distill in a thirty to forty five 9 00:00:37,040 --> 00:00:41,239 Speaker 1: minute podcast because volumes of books can be written on 10 00:00:41,320 --> 00:00:43,720 Speaker 1: the Age of Enlightenment and have been and have been. 11 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:45,280 Speaker 1: So this is this is stuff. There is gonna be 12 00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:49,319 Speaker 1: a very bird's eye view. Yeah, there's a dude named 13 00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:52,199 Speaker 1: Jonathan Israel who just came out with I think this 14 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:57,960 Speaker 1: third volume of a three volume set on the Enlightenment 15 00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:01,120 Speaker 1: and he wrote literally several thousand and pages of it 16 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:06,160 Speaker 1: and it's considered an obscure text. Yeah, he probably doesn't 17 00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:08,440 Speaker 1: even think that he covered it in full. No, but 18 00:01:08,600 --> 00:01:12,880 Speaker 1: he doesn't, although he's coming right. I think he does 19 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:15,080 Speaker 1: have another one coming. So maybe it was a second 20 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:20,679 Speaker 1: but um he uh that that the idea that um 21 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:23,360 Speaker 1: he doesn't think that it's done, that it's not finished 22 00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:27,200 Speaker 1: is actually a pretty standard view of the Enlightenment. Like, 23 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:32,160 Speaker 1: during research for this, I realized that there are tons 24 00:01:32,360 --> 00:01:37,240 Speaker 1: of intellectual arguments going on right now, like the Bill 25 00:01:37,319 --> 00:01:41,080 Speaker 1: Maher thing. Bill Maher in Islam. He's been accused of 26 00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:46,479 Speaker 1: being like a just a complete racist, xenophobic dude um 27 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:50,920 Speaker 1: because of his recent statements on Islam. Did you see 28 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:54,400 Speaker 1: him and Ben ben uh? Did you see them get 29 00:01:54,440 --> 00:02:00,600 Speaker 1: into it? Okay, that argument is an Enlightenment argument. It's 30 00:02:00,640 --> 00:02:04,680 Speaker 1: like it provided the Enlightenment was so massive that the 31 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:07,960 Speaker 1: ripple effects are still being felt on a daily basis 32 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:11,960 Speaker 1: because it was such an enormous change in the way 33 00:02:12,120 --> 00:02:14,720 Speaker 1: humans think that we're still trying to sit there and 34 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:19,040 Speaker 1: analyze what the heck happened. And that is one manifestation 35 00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:23,920 Speaker 1: of it. Is is like what Bill Maher is saying is, well, 36 00:02:23,960 --> 00:02:26,640 Speaker 1: you know, Islam is a religion or whatever, and therefore 37 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:30,520 Speaker 1: it's um an athetical to progress and culture and like 38 00:02:30,639 --> 00:02:35,040 Speaker 1: real thought and rationalism, and Ben a Ben yeah, Ben 39 00:02:35,040 --> 00:02:38,560 Speaker 1: Affleck is saying, like, you can't say that about a culture, 40 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:40,919 Speaker 1: Like each culture is its own thing. So what we're 41 00:02:40,919 --> 00:02:44,880 Speaker 1: seeing there is the idea of moral absolutism arguing with 42 00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:52,560 Speaker 1: moral relativism, and that is like textbook Enlightenment argument. Pretty interesting. Sure. 43 00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:56,160 Speaker 1: Like researching this article seriously, I tied together probably ten 44 00:02:56,200 --> 00:02:59,320 Speaker 1: different things that I didn't realize we're connected. Well, yeah, 45 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:01,280 Speaker 1: I love it when stuff like that. It was the 46 00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:05,800 Speaker 1: start of and you know, the age of Enlightenment quote 47 00:03:05,840 --> 00:03:09,760 Speaker 1: unquote started and ended, but it was the birth of 48 00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:17,320 Speaker 1: just a new kind of thought and a new value system, uh, philosophical, scientific, cultural, intellectual, 49 00:03:18,040 --> 00:03:23,400 Speaker 1: basically saying reason over this previous long held belief that 50 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:27,240 Speaker 1: just strict religious dogma is all you need to worry about. 51 00:03:27,680 --> 00:03:31,200 Speaker 1: You don't question anything, don't try and think about science 52 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:34,639 Speaker 1: and nature and things like that other than just this 53 00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:37,640 Speaker 1: is God's creation and what does it mean in terms 54 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:40,000 Speaker 1: of religion exactly. So, of course it's still going on. 55 00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:42,440 Speaker 1: But it wasn't. It wasn't just that. It was definitely 56 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:48,440 Speaker 1: Enlightenment was the If you're an Enlightenment UM fan, you 57 00:03:48,480 --> 00:03:51,920 Speaker 1: would say Enlightenment was the domination of reason over religion 58 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:54,480 Speaker 1: or faith. It was a it was a value system basically. 59 00:03:54,600 --> 00:03:58,280 Speaker 1: But there was another aspect of the Enlightenment, the domination 60 00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:04,600 Speaker 1: of um the will of the people over the monarchy. UM. 61 00:04:04,720 --> 00:04:10,360 Speaker 1: Economic there was economic change, UM, huge economic changes thanks 62 00:04:10,400 --> 00:04:13,120 Speaker 1: to Adam Smith. There were a lot of like huge 63 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:17,920 Speaker 1: monumental changes in the way people thought. UM. So much 64 00:04:17,920 --> 00:04:20,880 Speaker 1: so that modern historians who are trying to unpack the 65 00:04:20,960 --> 00:04:23,960 Speaker 1: Enlightenment still one of the schools of thought is that 66 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:26,960 Speaker 1: you can't just call it the Enlightenment. It happened in 67 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:32,440 Speaker 1: too many different places under different circumstances. Um. And then 68 00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:35,200 Speaker 1: the again, like the the different aspects of it, the 69 00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:38,479 Speaker 1: fact that one part of it dealt with governmental change, 70 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:40,680 Speaker 1: one part of it dealt with religious change, another part 71 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:45,120 Speaker 1: that with economic change. That they it's been kind of 72 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:49,680 Speaker 1: distilled into separate compartments. Now, yeah, I mean separate compartments 73 00:04:49,680 --> 00:04:56,120 Speaker 1: somewhere divergent and contradictory. Uh. It occurred nearly simultaneously in 74 00:04:56,160 --> 00:04:59,960 Speaker 1: the eighteenth century in France, Great Britain, Germany and other 75 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:05,600 Speaker 1: in at least Bain, Portugal, American colonies all over the place. UM. 76 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:07,599 Speaker 1: I like to say, it's the period of time where 77 00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:11,320 Speaker 1: the world started waking up and pulled their heads from 78 00:05:11,320 --> 00:05:16,560 Speaker 1: their rear ends. Basically, well, the the the question now, 79 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:22,279 Speaker 1: I mean, if you're a religious type, you're probably happy 80 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:25,800 Speaker 1: about the fruits of the Enlightenment. Like everybody points at 81 00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:28,800 Speaker 1: the Industrial Revolution is proof positive the Enlightenment was great, 82 00:05:29,080 --> 00:05:32,600 Speaker 1: or the American experiment proof positive the Enlightenment was great. 83 00:05:32,839 --> 00:05:34,839 Speaker 1: But you probably don't like the fact that the world 84 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:38,080 Speaker 1: completely turned its back on religion or not completely but 85 00:05:38,200 --> 00:05:42,279 Speaker 1: largely did. If you're a pro Enlightenment type, you're probably 86 00:05:42,320 --> 00:05:45,520 Speaker 1: saying this was for the best, like we were backwards, 87 00:05:45,560 --> 00:05:49,080 Speaker 1: we emerged from the dark Ages thanks to the Enlightenment. Um, 88 00:05:49,120 --> 00:05:52,080 Speaker 1: And this is the argument that's still going on today, Like, yes, 89 00:05:52,120 --> 00:05:54,880 Speaker 1: the Enlightenment changed everything, but did it go too far? 90 00:05:55,800 --> 00:05:58,880 Speaker 1: So that's we'll get into all that. But Conger, who 91 00:05:58,880 --> 00:06:01,039 Speaker 1: wrote this article, I think did a very good job 92 00:06:01,640 --> 00:06:05,600 Speaker 1: of taking the whole thing back further than the eighteenth 93 00:06:05,680 --> 00:06:09,040 Speaker 1: century out of the French salons and set the stage 94 00:06:09,200 --> 00:06:14,640 Speaker 1: for what created the basis for this this change in thinking. Yeah, 95 00:06:14,680 --> 00:06:16,800 Speaker 1: I think Kristen did a great job of distilling a 96 00:06:16,880 --> 00:06:20,400 Speaker 1: complex topic down to like an eight page article, but 97 00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:22,720 Speaker 1: she does take it back to Um, there were a 98 00:06:22,760 --> 00:06:26,360 Speaker 1: couple of things that sort of laid the groundwork. Um, well, 99 00:06:26,360 --> 00:06:28,000 Speaker 1: a lot of things, but a couple of them are 100 00:06:28,720 --> 00:06:33,240 Speaker 1: Mr Sir Isaac Newton and the famous story of the 101 00:06:33,279 --> 00:06:36,359 Speaker 1: apple falling on his head, which makes a great story. 102 00:06:36,400 --> 00:06:38,000 Speaker 1: He told a lot of people that I don't know 103 00:06:38,279 --> 00:06:42,719 Speaker 1: how uh factually exactly true that is, but it makes 104 00:06:42,720 --> 00:06:45,480 Speaker 1: for a great story. But either way you want to 105 00:06:45,520 --> 00:06:48,839 Speaker 1: look at it. Isaac Newton looked at the space at 106 00:06:48,839 --> 00:06:52,680 Speaker 1: some point between that apple in the ground and said, 107 00:06:52,680 --> 00:06:55,880 Speaker 1: there's something going on in that empty space that should 108 00:06:55,880 --> 00:06:59,440 Speaker 1: be explained, because that apple doesn't fall up. Something's keeping 109 00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:01,560 Speaker 1: us all did here on the ground, and I want 110 00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:03,440 Speaker 1: to look into that. Although if you were a fan 111 00:07:03,480 --> 00:07:06,560 Speaker 1: of David Humes, you would say, uh, well, actually it 112 00:07:06,600 --> 00:07:08,920 Speaker 1: could consumably fall up, because we've never proven it won't 113 00:07:08,920 --> 00:07:12,400 Speaker 1: fall up. And him was one of the proponents, well 114 00:07:12,400 --> 00:07:15,800 Speaker 1: not proponents, but uh he was active in the Age 115 00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:19,680 Speaker 1: of Enlightenment. Another thing that really laid the groundwork was 116 00:07:19,800 --> 00:07:23,640 Speaker 1: the Thirty Years of War from six eighteen to sixty eight, 117 00:07:23,920 --> 00:07:29,320 Speaker 1: which pretty much paved the way for Protestant Reformation and 118 00:07:30,280 --> 00:07:32,760 Speaker 1: the Roman Catholic Church took a lot of the teeth 119 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:36,200 Speaker 1: away from the Roman Catholic Church. Huge first time, Yeah, 120 00:07:36,240 --> 00:07:38,120 Speaker 1: it was. There was a huge change. So what you 121 00:07:38,280 --> 00:07:43,200 Speaker 1: just described, Chuck, is a the foundation for the intellectual 122 00:07:43,280 --> 00:07:49,520 Speaker 1: branch of of the Enlightenment thinking usurping the power from 123 00:07:49,680 --> 00:07:53,680 Speaker 1: theological thinking. And then with the Thirty Year War, the 124 00:07:53,840 --> 00:07:56,600 Speaker 1: political power was taken away from the church because for 125 00:07:56,640 --> 00:07:59,520 Speaker 1: the first time now the precedent has been set that 126 00:07:59,680 --> 00:08:02,960 Speaker 1: you was a citizen. Your allegiance is not split between 127 00:08:03,240 --> 00:08:06,600 Speaker 1: church and state. Your allegiances first and foremost to the state. 128 00:08:07,080 --> 00:08:10,640 Speaker 1: And we see that still today. Like if somebody uh 129 00:08:10,960 --> 00:08:15,440 Speaker 1: kills their um, their parents or whatever because it's the 130 00:08:15,520 --> 00:08:19,760 Speaker 1: Seventh Sign and Demi Moore's running around and they it 131 00:08:19,760 --> 00:08:21,600 Speaker 1: turns out that they were brother and sister, so you 132 00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:24,000 Speaker 1: kill them because it's the will of God. State says, 133 00:08:24,040 --> 00:08:25,560 Speaker 1: I don't care if it's the will of God, you 134 00:08:25,600 --> 00:08:29,560 Speaker 1: can't kill your parents. The state's law is more powerful 135 00:08:29,560 --> 00:08:32,840 Speaker 1: and more important than God's law. That's straight out of 136 00:08:32,840 --> 00:08:36,400 Speaker 1: the Thirty Years War that changed everything. Have you ever 137 00:08:36,440 --> 00:08:40,200 Speaker 1: seen the Seventh Sign? Man? I saw that, like when 138 00:08:40,200 --> 00:08:43,319 Speaker 1: it came out. I don't remember anything about it. I 139 00:08:43,840 --> 00:08:46,559 Speaker 1: just remember like one of the characters was this kid 140 00:08:46,679 --> 00:08:49,640 Speaker 1: with down syndrome and he murdered his parents because he 141 00:08:49,640 --> 00:08:51,280 Speaker 1: found out that they were brother and sister and he 142 00:08:51,360 --> 00:08:55,040 Speaker 1: was super religious and they were going to execute him. Yeah, 143 00:08:55,040 --> 00:08:58,600 Speaker 1: when they execute. I think he was like the last martyr. Man, 144 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:02,880 Speaker 1: I'll have to check it out again. Yeah more. Uh man, 145 00:09:02,920 --> 00:09:05,640 Speaker 1: she just keeps getting better looking, don't she. How didn't 146 00:09:05,679 --> 00:09:08,480 Speaker 1: do that? Yeah, like you look at um. Blame it 147 00:09:08,520 --> 00:09:12,960 Speaker 1: on Rio seeing that. Yeah, she's kind of dooey and 148 00:09:13,800 --> 00:09:17,320 Speaker 1: not tubby, but just round. And then she got all chiseled. Man, 149 00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:23,360 Speaker 1: they remained chiseled. That was Michael Kine. Wasn't it great movie? Yeah? 150 00:09:23,840 --> 00:09:25,400 Speaker 1: But I mean she was a kid back then. Everyone 151 00:09:25,440 --> 00:09:27,520 Speaker 1: was Dowie back then when they were kids. Blaming Rio. 152 00:09:27,800 --> 00:09:30,560 Speaker 1: It was really good movie. So Conger points out even 153 00:09:30,559 --> 00:09:34,120 Speaker 1: further back about the Dark Ages, sort of laying the groundwork, 154 00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:36,959 Speaker 1: which the Dark Ages were dark for many reasons, but 155 00:09:37,240 --> 00:09:40,000 Speaker 1: one of the big ones was that the Roman Catholic 156 00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:44,960 Speaker 1: Church basically ruled everything. Uh. Latin was the language, the 157 00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:48,880 Speaker 1: center of life and academia where monasteries and abbeys. You 158 00:09:48,880 --> 00:09:56,360 Speaker 1: weren't encouraged to get educated outside of uh theological uh realms. 159 00:09:56,800 --> 00:09:58,920 Speaker 1: It was not encouraged. Do you have to actually, I 160 00:09:59,200 --> 00:10:01,320 Speaker 1: want to say, you have to be carefully using the 161 00:10:01,440 --> 00:10:06,480 Speaker 1: term Dark Ages because uh apparently it is a disparaging 162 00:10:06,559 --> 00:10:09,720 Speaker 1: label that people on the pro Enlightenment side of the argument. 163 00:10:10,440 --> 00:10:13,760 Speaker 1: The humanists, they say, these are the Dark Ages. That 164 00:10:13,880 --> 00:10:15,920 Speaker 1: was back when the Church controlled everything, when everybody was 165 00:10:15,960 --> 00:10:20,120 Speaker 1: just an ignoramus. Once the Enlightenment came along, we emerge 166 00:10:20,160 --> 00:10:23,160 Speaker 1: from the Dark Ages. Technically, once the Renaissance came along, 167 00:10:23,200 --> 00:10:24,800 Speaker 1: we emerge from the Dark Ages. So if you're in 168 00:10:24,840 --> 00:10:27,559 Speaker 1: a Storian, you call it the Middle Ages. But even 169 00:10:27,800 --> 00:10:30,600 Speaker 1: the Middle Ages are kind of sad because it just 170 00:10:30,640 --> 00:10:33,920 Speaker 1: says these ay just kind of existed between this important 171 00:10:33,920 --> 00:10:36,160 Speaker 1: age and this important age. We just call this the 172 00:10:36,160 --> 00:10:39,480 Speaker 1: Middle Ages. But it's better than the Dark Ages. But 173 00:10:39,559 --> 00:10:43,200 Speaker 1: that's a that's a um an argument or a label 174 00:10:43,520 --> 00:10:50,120 Speaker 1: that a disparaging label that humanists use unfairly, because there 175 00:10:50,120 --> 00:10:53,440 Speaker 1: were scientists working and laying the groundwork for future science 176 00:10:53,440 --> 00:10:55,640 Speaker 1: in the Dark Ages, and Congret even mentions them in 177 00:10:55,679 --> 00:10:59,880 Speaker 1: this article, like Thomas Aquinas came up with scholasticism, Yeah, 178 00:11:00,400 --> 00:11:05,520 Speaker 1: and scholasticism is basically the idea that you can understand 179 00:11:05,600 --> 00:11:08,920 Speaker 1: God even more and be even more pure and divine 180 00:11:08,960 --> 00:11:13,760 Speaker 1: yourself by studying nature. Yeah. Roger Bacon was another monk 181 00:11:13,760 --> 00:11:17,000 Speaker 1: who was a proponent of that. And I think um 182 00:11:17,040 --> 00:11:19,120 Speaker 1: that allowed them and I don't think that's the reason 183 00:11:19,120 --> 00:11:21,200 Speaker 1: they did it. But that allowed them to pursue these 184 00:11:21,240 --> 00:11:25,960 Speaker 1: scientific avenues because it was still tied to God. Another 185 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:30,560 Speaker 1: big change was Uh. Like I said before, in the 186 00:11:31,320 --> 00:11:34,600 Speaker 1: not so dark Ages, perhaps Latin was the language, and 187 00:11:34,679 --> 00:11:38,040 Speaker 1: they didn't have something called the printing press until Johann 188 00:11:38,040 --> 00:11:40,640 Speaker 1: Guttenberg came along in fourty eight and says, you know what, 189 00:11:41,200 --> 00:11:44,120 Speaker 1: everyone should be able to read. Start printing stuff in 190 00:11:44,120 --> 00:11:48,000 Speaker 1: your native tongue. Uh. And that led directly to people 191 00:11:48,280 --> 00:11:52,280 Speaker 1: starting to educate themselves. It was the democratization of education 192 00:11:52,400 --> 00:11:55,160 Speaker 1: right exactly. And all of this didn't happen like out 193 00:11:55,160 --> 00:11:58,320 Speaker 1: of the blue, like Roger Bacon and Thomas Aquinas and 194 00:11:58,360 --> 00:12:01,480 Speaker 1: a guy named Leonardo Brunei. They didn't necessarily come up 195 00:12:01,520 --> 00:12:04,520 Speaker 1: with their ideas on their own. There was some this 196 00:12:04,679 --> 00:12:09,280 Speaker 1: really seminal thing that happened back in the mid century 197 00:12:09,480 --> 00:12:13,680 Speaker 1: where somebody, I don't know who did, somebody translated um 198 00:12:13,800 --> 00:12:18,319 Speaker 1: Aristotle I believe his works into Latin, and all of 199 00:12:18,400 --> 00:12:25,840 Speaker 1: a sudden, the Greek rational thinkers of antiquity, their ideas 200 00:12:25,840 --> 00:12:29,120 Speaker 1: were suddenly available to the West for the first time. 201 00:12:29,720 --> 00:12:32,079 Speaker 1: And it just so happened that some people started paying 202 00:12:32,120 --> 00:12:37,240 Speaker 1: attention to these things. Leonardo Bruni read Petrarch and revived 203 00:12:37,240 --> 00:12:40,839 Speaker 1: the idea of humanism, which is a huge sea change 204 00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:44,880 Speaker 1: because humanism says humans are pretty awesome and the fruit 205 00:12:44,920 --> 00:12:47,560 Speaker 1: of our labors, the fruit of our intellect, the fruit 206 00:12:47,600 --> 00:12:51,720 Speaker 1: of everything that we do comes from human ability, not 207 00:12:51,960 --> 00:12:55,840 Speaker 1: God Like, We're not just vessels for God's brilliance to 208 00:12:55,880 --> 00:12:58,880 Speaker 1: be shown through. If you create something, you come up 209 00:12:58,880 --> 00:13:02,280 Speaker 1: with a work of art because God did that. You 210 00:13:02,360 --> 00:13:05,040 Speaker 1: did that, but let's figure out how you did it, right. 211 00:13:05,360 --> 00:13:09,160 Speaker 1: That's humanism. And this is what the Renaissance started to 212 00:13:09,200 --> 00:13:11,720 Speaker 1: revive and was a huge change, Like, maybe we should 213 00:13:11,760 --> 00:13:14,640 Speaker 1: start paying attention to ourselves a little more exactly, let's 214 00:13:14,640 --> 00:13:18,920 Speaker 1: explore the human condition. Yeah. Um. Aristotle was not a 215 00:13:18,960 --> 00:13:24,000 Speaker 1: heretic because he tied his geocentric universe ideas to God 216 00:13:24,440 --> 00:13:27,400 Speaker 1: as well. Um. He thought the universe was composed of 217 00:13:27,440 --> 00:13:31,559 Speaker 1: ten separate crystal spheres, and beyond the tenth sphere that 218 00:13:31,720 --> 00:13:36,760 Speaker 1: was heaven and God. Uh. Copernicus, Um, she uh pretty 219 00:13:36,840 --> 00:13:41,560 Speaker 1: much said no, that's not true. The universe is infinite. Uh. 220 00:13:41,600 --> 00:13:45,920 Speaker 1: And he was pretty alone in that thinking. Early on, 221 00:13:46,520 --> 00:13:49,679 Speaker 1: I faced a lot of criticism from like every every 222 00:13:49,679 --> 00:13:53,640 Speaker 1: religion Protestants and Catholics. Yep, it was a They thought 223 00:13:53,640 --> 00:13:55,720 Speaker 1: it was a dangerous way of thinking because he didn't 224 00:13:55,720 --> 00:13:58,000 Speaker 1: make room for God in the cosmos, And it definitely 225 00:13:58,080 --> 00:14:00,800 Speaker 1: was a dangerous way of thinking to the church, Like 226 00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:03,800 Speaker 1: the Protestant Reformation was going on, you had the Thirty 227 00:14:03,880 --> 00:14:08,240 Speaker 1: Years War coming down the pike, you had Copernicus um 228 00:14:08,280 --> 00:14:13,040 Speaker 1: thanks to this revival of interest in astronomy, like yeah, 229 00:14:13,160 --> 00:14:16,760 Speaker 1: starting to to look at the universe around us and 230 00:14:16,800 --> 00:14:21,480 Speaker 1: finding even like symbolic stuff like um, who was it? Kepler? 231 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:26,520 Speaker 1: He was an assistant to Tycho Brahe and Kepler figured 232 00:14:26,520 --> 00:14:31,160 Speaker 1: out that the planets uh revolve around the Sun in 233 00:14:31,240 --> 00:14:35,960 Speaker 1: an ellipse. Well, the church, the Holy Roman Church, said 234 00:14:36,120 --> 00:14:38,440 Speaker 1: that the circle was a symbol of perfection. So of 235 00:14:38,480 --> 00:14:42,320 Speaker 1: course everything revolved around the earth in a circle. Not 236 00:14:42,400 --> 00:14:45,080 Speaker 1: only did things not revolve around the Earth, revolved around 237 00:14:45,120 --> 00:14:47,120 Speaker 1: the sun. And they didn't even do that in a circle, 238 00:14:47,160 --> 00:14:49,840 Speaker 1: they did an ellipse. So the church is just losing 239 00:14:49,880 --> 00:14:52,960 Speaker 1: its mind because all these people are coming forward saying 240 00:14:53,480 --> 00:14:57,280 Speaker 1: everything that you're saying over here is starting to prove 241 00:14:57,400 --> 00:15:00,640 Speaker 1: to smell like bs and the church is losing its 242 00:15:00,640 --> 00:15:03,560 Speaker 1: power left and right. Both politically and intellectually. It's losing 243 00:15:03,560 --> 00:15:07,720 Speaker 1: its authority. Yeah. Galileo even recanted, uh, because he was 244 00:15:07,720 --> 00:15:10,840 Speaker 1: accused of heresy for his theory that the Earth rotates 245 00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:13,600 Speaker 1: on its axis. So he said, I'll take it all back. 246 00:15:14,160 --> 00:15:16,680 Speaker 1: I didn't mean that. Please don't kill me. He's like, 247 00:15:16,720 --> 00:15:20,400 Speaker 1: but just make sure my manuscripts survive. So we were 248 00:15:20,440 --> 00:15:25,560 Speaker 1: talking about Bacon. He is the creator of the scientific method, 249 00:15:25,840 --> 00:15:29,440 Speaker 1: and he says, you know what, we should use experiments 250 00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:32,800 Speaker 1: to actually try and explain things. And so it's six. 251 00:15:33,320 --> 00:15:35,360 Speaker 1: I think it's high time we have a method for 252 00:15:35,400 --> 00:15:38,240 Speaker 1: doing so. So that was Francis Bacon. Yes, I wonder 253 00:15:38,280 --> 00:15:41,320 Speaker 1: if he was related to Roger Bacon. I don't know. 254 00:15:41,640 --> 00:15:43,600 Speaker 1: They were separated by a few centuries, but they could 255 00:15:43,640 --> 00:15:47,360 Speaker 1: have been fam sure, I think so. Uh. And he 256 00:15:47,400 --> 00:15:50,800 Speaker 1: was did you ever take philosophy in college? No? Um, 257 00:15:50,840 --> 00:15:52,800 Speaker 1: I think I might have. I didn't get much out 258 00:15:52,800 --> 00:15:54,360 Speaker 1: of it. If I did, I don't remember. That's like 259 00:15:54,440 --> 00:15:58,840 Speaker 1: one class we studied descartes um a lot. I've grown 260 00:15:58,840 --> 00:16:00,720 Speaker 1: to be a little more interest it in it, but 261 00:16:01,160 --> 00:16:06,480 Speaker 1: I like the more I like like existential crisis philosophy, 262 00:16:06,520 --> 00:16:08,960 Speaker 1: like Nick Bostrom stuff, And I don't know what that is, 263 00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:13,080 Speaker 1: just basically how the world's gonna end. Okay, this stuff 264 00:16:13,160 --> 00:16:15,920 Speaker 1: is I think, like de Cartes is interesting, but I'm 265 00:16:15,920 --> 00:16:18,880 Speaker 1: not like a I'm not. It doesn't light my fire. Yeah, 266 00:16:18,920 --> 00:16:20,320 Speaker 1: it was right. I think I made an a in 267 00:16:20,360 --> 00:16:22,920 Speaker 1: that class actually because it interested me at the time. 268 00:16:22,960 --> 00:16:25,040 Speaker 1: But I never took a follow up class. It just 269 00:16:25,040 --> 00:16:27,440 Speaker 1: took the intro. So it clearly didn't mean that much 270 00:16:27,480 --> 00:16:29,960 Speaker 1: to me. But I get it. Well. Yeah, And what 271 00:16:30,040 --> 00:16:37,160 Speaker 1: they cart was saying is our experience is not It's 272 00:16:37,200 --> 00:16:40,720 Speaker 1: not what you thought. Like mind and matter are two 273 00:16:40,760 --> 00:16:44,640 Speaker 1: different things, and the human experiences a subjective experience and 274 00:16:44,680 --> 00:16:47,880 Speaker 1: the mind, what the mind produces is different than what 275 00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:52,320 Speaker 1: is reality and really kind of um that changed things 276 00:16:52,320 --> 00:16:55,080 Speaker 1: tremendously too. So you got all these people like contributing 277 00:16:55,080 --> 00:16:57,560 Speaker 1: to this. We haven't even reached the eighteenth century yet, 278 00:16:58,400 --> 00:17:01,360 Speaker 1: Like the groundwork is definitely being late and it's still 279 00:17:01,400 --> 00:17:05,399 Speaker 1: being laid. Um as far as the like the government goes. 280 00:17:06,480 --> 00:17:09,800 Speaker 1: John locke Um was one of the people who contributed 281 00:17:09,840 --> 00:17:13,480 Speaker 1: to the idea of the social contract. The social contract 282 00:17:13,840 --> 00:17:17,359 Speaker 1: there was Hobbes Lock and later on Rousso and others 283 00:17:18,240 --> 00:17:21,680 Speaker 1: contributed this idea that humans are born with natural rights. 284 00:17:21,720 --> 00:17:25,240 Speaker 1: You're born free. I'm born free, even Jerry's born free, 285 00:17:25,640 --> 00:17:29,480 Speaker 1: look at her. And to form a society, you give 286 00:17:29,560 --> 00:17:32,920 Speaker 1: up some of these natural rights. For example, one one 287 00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:35,320 Speaker 1: thing that you give up is your right to kill 288 00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:41,240 Speaker 1: in retribution. Uh. Any society typically demands a state monopoly 289 00:17:41,280 --> 00:17:45,680 Speaker 1: on violence, which means that if somebody kills your family member, 290 00:17:45,720 --> 00:17:47,879 Speaker 1: you don't go kill that person. You go to the 291 00:17:47,920 --> 00:17:50,960 Speaker 1: state and say that guy killed my family member, triumph, 292 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:53,200 Speaker 1: convict him and kill him on my behalf because there's 293 00:17:53,200 --> 00:17:55,879 Speaker 1: a state monopoly on violence. So that's a natural right 294 00:17:55,920 --> 00:17:58,800 Speaker 1: that you give up. I think appropriately so and for 295 00:17:58,920 --> 00:18:02,359 Speaker 1: the better, but as part of the social contract and 296 00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:05,639 Speaker 1: so Uh. The idea that that humans had these rights 297 00:18:05,680 --> 00:18:09,440 Speaker 1: and that society in turn had rights because humans gave 298 00:18:09,480 --> 00:18:14,080 Speaker 1: them rights. Um, that was a big basis of enlightenment thinking. 299 00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:16,679 Speaker 1: That would be added to later on too. Yeah. And 300 00:18:16,720 --> 00:18:20,399 Speaker 1: Locke also was one of the first champions of what 301 00:18:20,440 --> 00:18:23,040 Speaker 1: would kind of become nurture over nature. His idea of 302 00:18:23,080 --> 00:18:26,400 Speaker 1: the Tabu larassa that when humans are born, their minds 303 00:18:26,440 --> 00:18:29,440 Speaker 1: are a clean slate and they are shaped by experience 304 00:18:29,440 --> 00:18:32,640 Speaker 1: and education and not some preordained thing that you're born 305 00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:36,679 Speaker 1: with and uh, this French intellect gobbled that stuff up. 306 00:18:36,680 --> 00:18:40,240 Speaker 1: His name was Francois Marie Arouette, and he went by 307 00:18:40,520 --> 00:18:43,680 Speaker 1: a name you might know, Voltaire, and he really loved 308 00:18:43,680 --> 00:18:45,960 Speaker 1: this stuff and went back to France with all these 309 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:50,159 Speaker 1: ideals and said, we gotta get on this and let's uh, 310 00:18:50,359 --> 00:18:52,120 Speaker 1: you know, we can't go out in the streets right 311 00:18:52,160 --> 00:18:53,960 Speaker 1: now and talk about the stuff, but we can meet 312 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:56,680 Speaker 1: in private and homes like a Tupperware party, and we'll 313 00:18:56,680 --> 00:18:59,600 Speaker 1: call them salons and we'll we'll talk about these radical 314 00:18:59,640 --> 00:19:03,200 Speaker 1: ideas is in um in this new way of thinking, 315 00:19:03,359 --> 00:19:05,560 Speaker 1: in the privacy of homes for those that are willing 316 00:19:05,840 --> 00:19:08,520 Speaker 1: to host it. Yeah, and we'll talk more about Voltaire 317 00:19:08,560 --> 00:19:14,400 Speaker 1: and what he did right after this. So, Chuck, Voltaire 318 00:19:14,440 --> 00:19:19,520 Speaker 1: has been lit up. He was in England from seventeen 319 00:19:19,520 --> 00:19:23,160 Speaker 1: twenty nine, living in exile because he was already critical 320 00:19:23,200 --> 00:19:25,680 Speaker 1: of the French monarchy. While he was there he ran 321 00:19:25,760 --> 00:19:30,159 Speaker 1: into the ideas of lock of apparently Descartes as well. 322 00:19:30,840 --> 00:19:35,080 Speaker 1: He he basically got turned onto rationalism and he was 323 00:19:35,200 --> 00:19:37,239 Speaker 1: primed and ready for it, Like this guy was just 324 00:19:37,680 --> 00:19:40,160 Speaker 1: waiting for these ideas to pour into him. And when 325 00:19:40,160 --> 00:19:43,879 Speaker 1: they did. He became a lightning rod for what we 326 00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:47,840 Speaker 1: think of as the Enlightenment. Like Voltaire was the main 327 00:19:47,960 --> 00:19:51,760 Speaker 1: dude to start from what I understand. Yeah, and um, 328 00:19:51,800 --> 00:19:53,719 Speaker 1: like we mentioned the salons, they had to do this 329 00:19:53,760 --> 00:19:58,400 Speaker 1: in private because Louis the four Yeah that right, Yeah, 330 00:19:58,480 --> 00:20:03,920 Speaker 1: get better at that. He was pretty hard on to try. 331 00:20:04,160 --> 00:20:07,040 Speaker 1: He didn't like that kind of talk. It threatened him 332 00:20:07,119 --> 00:20:10,840 Speaker 1: for good reason. Uh well, yeah, I mean the reason 333 00:20:10,920 --> 00:20:13,879 Speaker 1: why is like the power was taken from the church 334 00:20:14,280 --> 00:20:16,720 Speaker 1: in place more in the monarchy. But in very short order, 335 00:20:16,800 --> 00:20:18,879 Speaker 1: people said, you know, we're not really that fond of 336 00:20:18,920 --> 00:20:21,320 Speaker 1: the monarchy either. We think we should rule ourselves or 337 00:20:21,359 --> 00:20:24,479 Speaker 1: at least elect people to rule ourselves. To this divine 338 00:20:24,560 --> 00:20:26,520 Speaker 1: right of kings. Things seems kind of hinky now that 339 00:20:26,560 --> 00:20:29,520 Speaker 1: we think about it. So the monarchies were threatened as 340 00:20:29,560 --> 00:20:32,439 Speaker 1: well by the Enlightenment. So yeah, the monarchy liked the 341 00:20:32,520 --> 00:20:36,200 Speaker 1: dumb masses that stayed under their thumb and any kind 342 00:20:36,200 --> 00:20:40,480 Speaker 1: of like radical thought or original thought was super dangerous. 343 00:20:40,520 --> 00:20:44,760 Speaker 1: It sounds familiar exactly. It is interesting how you talked about. 344 00:20:45,680 --> 00:20:47,760 Speaker 1: I think there are periods of time where things like 345 00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:50,119 Speaker 1: the Age of Enlightenment keep popping up that's like the 346 00:20:50,200 --> 00:20:53,199 Speaker 1: nineteen sixties in the United States, and I think, like 347 00:20:53,240 --> 00:20:54,960 Speaker 1: you said, we're in one right now. I think we're 348 00:20:54,960 --> 00:20:57,760 Speaker 1: in probably more than even the sixties right now. Yeah, 349 00:20:57,800 --> 00:21:00,080 Speaker 1: And I think there are periods where that lulls it 350 00:21:00,200 --> 00:21:05,480 Speaker 1: like maybe the nineteen eighties, the seventies, remember Disco, like 351 00:21:05,520 --> 00:21:08,399 Speaker 1: a dumbing down of things. Yeah, just people not caring 352 00:21:08,480 --> 00:21:11,280 Speaker 1: or whatever. It's weird and cyclical. I read I read 353 00:21:11,280 --> 00:21:14,879 Speaker 1: this article um called things Fall Apart How social media 354 00:21:14,960 --> 00:21:17,679 Speaker 1: leads to a less stable world. It was by a 355 00:21:17,680 --> 00:21:20,720 Speaker 1: guy named Curtis Howland h G. H. L Andy and 356 00:21:20,760 --> 00:21:23,760 Speaker 1: it's on Knowledge at Wharton there, like the Wharton Business 357 00:21:23,760 --> 00:21:26,760 Speaker 1: School website, and it was basically saying it wasn't I 358 00:21:26,760 --> 00:21:28,760 Speaker 1: thought it was condemning social media, and this guy was 359 00:21:28,800 --> 00:21:33,600 Speaker 1: just basically stating, matter of factly that social media erodes 360 00:21:33,640 --> 00:21:38,360 Speaker 1: the state and that now we have ways to connect 361 00:21:38,400 --> 00:21:41,560 Speaker 1: with other people in ways that are more important to 362 00:21:41,640 --> 00:21:44,399 Speaker 1: us than, say, our allegiance to the state. So you 363 00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:48,600 Speaker 1: may feel, um, you may feel more connected to somebody 364 00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:53,000 Speaker 1: over Hello Kitty and your fondness for Hello Kitty, more 365 00:21:53,080 --> 00:21:56,480 Speaker 1: than you would identify yourself as saying American, and with 366 00:21:56,600 --> 00:21:59,160 Speaker 1: social media you're able to connect with other people who 367 00:21:59,160 --> 00:22:01,679 Speaker 1: feel the same way, and so you form on social 368 00:22:01,680 --> 00:22:06,440 Speaker 1: media basically bodies that supersede the state in your opinion, 369 00:22:06,600 --> 00:22:09,800 Speaker 1: no boundaries exactly. And as this happens, more and more 370 00:22:09,800 --> 00:22:13,160 Speaker 1: of the states, what's called sovereignty erodes more and more 371 00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:16,560 Speaker 1: and more um and it becomes a less and less 372 00:22:16,600 --> 00:22:19,800 Speaker 1: stable world. The guy's point was that, yes, while it's 373 00:22:19,880 --> 00:22:22,800 Speaker 1: very unstable and things are much more dangerous during periods 374 00:22:22,880 --> 00:22:26,320 Speaker 1: like this, it's it's basically just a period of upheaval 375 00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:29,480 Speaker 1: and change, and then eventually things stabilize again. But what 376 00:22:29,520 --> 00:22:32,080 Speaker 1: this guy was saying, using this as an example, is 377 00:22:32,119 --> 00:22:35,520 Speaker 1: that we're in a like right now, possibly on the 378 00:22:35,560 --> 00:22:39,800 Speaker 1: cusp of a period of tremendous fundamental change in the world. 379 00:22:40,440 --> 00:22:44,680 Speaker 1: I see that every day. It's pretty interesting time to 380 00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:48,000 Speaker 1: be alive. Yeah, a little scary to me. Yeah, well, 381 00:22:48,040 --> 00:22:50,120 Speaker 1: I mean it's like the guy said, it's it's more 382 00:22:50,240 --> 00:22:55,760 Speaker 1: dangerous than your average time because change frequently comes out 383 00:22:55,800 --> 00:23:01,040 Speaker 1: of spasms of violence or um upheaval, just where nobody's 384 00:23:01,040 --> 00:23:04,400 Speaker 1: in charge, because there's a power struggle going on, or 385 00:23:04,520 --> 00:23:10,760 Speaker 1: our normal structures are being eroded. It's interesting, it's super interesting. Uh. 386 00:23:11,760 --> 00:23:14,320 Speaker 1: So back to the salons. We're back to the age 387 00:23:14,320 --> 00:23:19,680 Speaker 1: of enlightenment, the traditional age of enlightenment. Uh, the Salons, 388 00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:22,440 Speaker 1: the members were known. There was a group of people 389 00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:26,480 Speaker 1: known as the philosophics. Uh. We've mentioned a few of them. Rousseau, 390 00:23:26,680 --> 00:23:29,720 Speaker 1: did Hero Voltaire. Um, how do you pronounce that? Is 391 00:23:29,760 --> 00:23:35,000 Speaker 1: that it's not montgue is it Montesquieu Montesquieu? Um. And 392 00:23:35,119 --> 00:23:40,560 Speaker 1: they were They're kind of skeptics and critics of not 393 00:23:40,680 --> 00:23:45,400 Speaker 1: everything but the establishment of government or the way government 394 00:23:45,480 --> 00:23:49,280 Speaker 1: was at the time, especially the church. Hated the church, 395 00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:53,720 Speaker 1: like Voltaire especially hated the church and the very fact 396 00:23:53,720 --> 00:23:56,600 Speaker 1: that it even existed. And a lot of the enlightened 397 00:23:56,800 --> 00:24:02,480 Speaker 1: Uh ones were deists um and daism Basically, I like 398 00:24:02,520 --> 00:24:05,600 Speaker 1: the way Conger put it um in a big picture way. 399 00:24:05,720 --> 00:24:08,720 Speaker 1: They believe in a clockmaker God, which means maybe God 400 00:24:08,800 --> 00:24:11,119 Speaker 1: created everything and set things in motion. But then I 401 00:24:11,200 --> 00:24:13,000 Speaker 1: was like, all right, that's it. I'm out right, I'm 402 00:24:13,040 --> 00:24:17,000 Speaker 1: not uh getting my fingers and all the pies of everyone. 403 00:24:17,040 --> 00:24:22,600 Speaker 1: And it's you have free will basically after you're born um, 404 00:24:22,880 --> 00:24:26,640 Speaker 1: which again was pretty dangerous to the religious establishment. Yeah, 405 00:24:26,680 --> 00:24:29,040 Speaker 1: so you you've got the basis you've got the foundation 406 00:24:29,200 --> 00:24:32,720 Speaker 1: of um, the Holy Roman Empire in the West losing 407 00:24:33,200 --> 00:24:39,080 Speaker 1: tons of power and and um political and intellectually, you've 408 00:24:39,119 --> 00:24:41,680 Speaker 1: got the monarchy now being assaulted by the French salons 409 00:24:41,680 --> 00:24:46,960 Speaker 1: who are planning the seeds of democracy. Like Monascu for example, 410 00:24:47,400 --> 00:24:50,919 Speaker 1: Uh wrote in se the Spirit of the Laws, and 411 00:24:50,960 --> 00:24:54,320 Speaker 1: he basically proposed the idea of a separation of powers. 412 00:24:54,560 --> 00:24:56,239 Speaker 1: He's like the first guy to do that. He's the 413 00:24:56,240 --> 00:24:59,639 Speaker 1: French lawyer who was in the salon scene. And um, 414 00:24:59,680 --> 00:25:01,520 Speaker 1: all the sen it's like separation of power. What are 415 00:25:01,560 --> 00:25:03,359 Speaker 1: you talking about? No, you've got a monarch and what 416 00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:06,840 Speaker 1: the monarch says is right. And as a result of 417 00:25:06,880 --> 00:25:09,600 Speaker 1: this kind of thinking, the seeds of democracy are planted. 418 00:25:09,720 --> 00:25:13,880 Speaker 1: And then a hostility toward religion, um of almost any 419 00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:16,760 Speaker 1: kind that you still see today, like in the form 420 00:25:16,800 --> 00:25:23,080 Speaker 1: of like Bill Maher or Richard Dawkins are formerly Christopher Hitchens. Um. 421 00:25:23,119 --> 00:25:26,480 Speaker 1: All of this started coming out of the French salons. Yeah, 422 00:25:27,280 --> 00:25:29,159 Speaker 1: all right, after this message, we're going to talk a 423 00:25:29,160 --> 00:25:32,760 Speaker 1: little bit about how the Age of Enlightenment manifested itself 424 00:25:32,760 --> 00:25:44,640 Speaker 1: in different parts of the world. So we've mainly been 425 00:25:44,640 --> 00:25:49,119 Speaker 1: in Europe this whole time. UH. In France there was 426 00:25:49,440 --> 00:25:52,719 Speaker 1: an emphasis on the arts. UH. In England they had 427 00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:56,320 Speaker 1: a more emphasis on UM science and economics. You mentioned 428 00:25:56,320 --> 00:26:00,400 Speaker 1: Adam Smith at the beginning UH Scottish Man and Night 429 00:26:00,720 --> 00:26:04,000 Speaker 1: some nineteen seventy six. In seventeen seventy six wrote his 430 00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:08,720 Speaker 1: Wealth of Nations, which basically said the government should not 431 00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:14,120 Speaker 1: interfere with UH matters of finance and economics. Yeah, there 432 00:26:14,119 --> 00:26:18,080 Speaker 1: should be UH, the invisible hand guiding all these principles. Yeah. 433 00:26:18,119 --> 00:26:20,600 Speaker 1: I read this article and by this guy who's explaining 434 00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:24,399 Speaker 1: that change and thought, like before that, it was that 435 00:26:24,440 --> 00:26:27,720 Speaker 1: whole social contract thing, like Russa saying, you know, the 436 00:26:27,720 --> 00:26:30,720 Speaker 1: the it's this is an interplay between citizens and citizens 437 00:26:30,720 --> 00:26:33,639 Speaker 1: and citizens and their government, and the government's role is 438 00:26:33,680 --> 00:26:39,120 Speaker 1: to protect UM the rights of people. What Hume said 439 00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:42,080 Speaker 1: is the government is legitimate and so they're not human. 440 00:26:42,119 --> 00:26:45,399 Speaker 1: But Smith, it's the government's legitimate and so far as 441 00:26:45,480 --> 00:26:48,760 Speaker 1: it steps out of people's affairs and let's free trade 442 00:26:48,760 --> 00:26:52,400 Speaker 1: take place, which that might sound familiar if you UM 443 00:26:52,440 --> 00:26:57,359 Speaker 1: subscribe to republican or conservative or libertarian ideology. You know, 444 00:26:57,920 --> 00:27:00,919 Speaker 1: like the whole laz A fair attitude of government is 445 00:27:00,960 --> 00:27:04,560 Speaker 1: what's what legitimizes government, and the government that medals in 446 00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:09,600 Speaker 1: someone's affairs is an illegitimate government as far as classical 447 00:27:09,680 --> 00:27:13,080 Speaker 1: economic thought goes. Yeah, and we talked about that in 448 00:27:13,119 --> 00:27:15,359 Speaker 1: our stuff you should know Guide to the Economy, Yeah, 449 00:27:15,480 --> 00:27:18,400 Speaker 1: which we got an email someone bought that the other day. Yeah, 450 00:27:18,400 --> 00:27:21,480 Speaker 1: they thought was seventeen hours long or something. And then 451 00:27:21,520 --> 00:27:24,879 Speaker 1: also in Scotland, um was David Hume, who's like my 452 00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:28,400 Speaker 1: favorite philosopher of all time, just because he's like he's 453 00:27:28,440 --> 00:27:30,240 Speaker 1: the only when he studied, he's a meeting. Now he's 454 00:27:30,280 --> 00:27:32,320 Speaker 1: a meeting, but he's the only one who's ever really 455 00:27:32,320 --> 00:27:35,960 Speaker 1: spoken to me of the Enlightenment philosophers. And Hume was 456 00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:40,400 Speaker 1: this meat and potatoes dude who basically said, like, show 457 00:27:40,480 --> 00:27:43,600 Speaker 1: me the proof. He was a skeptic, he was an empiricist, 458 00:27:43,640 --> 00:27:45,960 Speaker 1: Like he said, you basically can't believe anything that you 459 00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:49,399 Speaker 1: can't see with you or not. My belief in his 460 00:27:49,560 --> 00:27:53,120 Speaker 1: philosophy has been eroded with the idea that like consciousness 461 00:27:53,200 --> 00:27:57,600 Speaker 1: is a subjective experience, like just totally subjective basically. But 462 00:27:58,320 --> 00:28:02,760 Speaker 1: I like his his idea and it was like the 463 00:28:02,760 --> 00:28:05,520 Speaker 1: the cause and effect right, like I think he used 464 00:28:05,560 --> 00:28:08,600 Speaker 1: like Billiards as an example, where you hit a ball 465 00:28:08,720 --> 00:28:11,520 Speaker 1: like you're playing eight ball, and you hit like the 466 00:28:11,560 --> 00:28:14,240 Speaker 1: eight ball with the cue ball, like you can predict 467 00:28:14,720 --> 00:28:17,000 Speaker 1: where that's gonna go, like where the eight ball is 468 00:28:17,040 --> 00:28:18,679 Speaker 1: gonna go based on how you hit it with the 469 00:28:18,760 --> 00:28:22,800 Speaker 1: cue ball. But the Humes point is is you can't 470 00:28:22,840 --> 00:28:25,840 Speaker 1: say for certain that that's what's going to happen. You're 471 00:28:25,840 --> 00:28:30,680 Speaker 1: basing that strictly on previous experience rather than proof that 472 00:28:30,720 --> 00:28:33,960 Speaker 1: this is what will happen. So we can't prove that 473 00:28:34,080 --> 00:28:37,239 Speaker 1: hitting that cue ball will make this eight ball go 474 00:28:37,320 --> 00:28:39,760 Speaker 1: in a certain direction ahead of time. And so therefore 475 00:28:39,800 --> 00:28:41,920 Speaker 1: we've come up with this thing called causing effect, which 476 00:28:42,280 --> 00:28:46,080 Speaker 1: basically serves as a stop gap between what we think 477 00:28:46,080 --> 00:28:49,280 Speaker 1: will happen and the phenomenon we've already observed. Like in 478 00:28:49,320 --> 00:28:51,520 Speaker 1: other words, you can't say for certain the sun is 479 00:28:51,520 --> 00:28:54,120 Speaker 1: gonna come up tomorrow just because it's already come up 480 00:28:54,320 --> 00:28:57,360 Speaker 1: so many days before. And the reason why it's because 481 00:28:57,400 --> 00:28:59,840 Speaker 1: we don't have empirical proof. And I liked him for that. 482 00:29:00,680 --> 00:29:02,680 Speaker 1: So you don't think the sun will come up tomorrow necessarily. 483 00:29:02,960 --> 00:29:06,120 Speaker 1: That's it's not the point that I think it won't 484 00:29:06,160 --> 00:29:09,880 Speaker 1: come up tomorrow It's what human was saying, is we 485 00:29:09,880 --> 00:29:12,400 Speaker 1: we we can't prove that it will. We we you 486 00:29:12,440 --> 00:29:17,560 Speaker 1: can't prove that it will just based on previous experience. Well, 487 00:29:17,560 --> 00:29:19,880 Speaker 1: Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were on board that train 488 00:29:20,200 --> 00:29:23,280 Speaker 1: to a certain degree. Uh. And we mentioned earlier that 489 00:29:23,400 --> 00:29:27,240 Speaker 1: most of the establishment was pretty threatened by most of 490 00:29:27,280 --> 00:29:30,880 Speaker 1: these ideas and the people in power, but not everybody. Uh. 491 00:29:30,920 --> 00:29:34,080 Speaker 1: Some people wanted to get on the Enlightenment train because 492 00:29:34,120 --> 00:29:39,000 Speaker 1: I think it was progressive and maybe made them seem 493 00:29:39,120 --> 00:29:44,400 Speaker 1: um open to ideas and modern perhaps um. Empress of Russia, 494 00:29:44,480 --> 00:29:47,760 Speaker 1: Catherine the Great was one of those who had a 495 00:29:47,800 --> 00:29:51,520 Speaker 1: lot of dealings with the philosophs, and Frederick the Great 496 00:29:51,560 --> 00:29:54,400 Speaker 1: of Prussia even had Voltaire over and said, you know what, 497 00:29:54,440 --> 00:29:56,960 Speaker 1: once you come and live here, and he did, yeah, 498 00:29:57,200 --> 00:30:01,800 Speaker 1: he said for free, and he said for free. He said, okay, 499 00:30:02,200 --> 00:30:03,960 Speaker 1: I'm just trying to think of Prussian money, but I 500 00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:10,800 Speaker 1: have no idea. The prawlers the approval that's but way better. Uh. 501 00:30:10,840 --> 00:30:13,600 Speaker 1: It was also happening in Germany, um all over the 502 00:30:13,600 --> 00:30:17,280 Speaker 1: world with Emmanuel Kant. He was one of the first 503 00:30:17,400 --> 00:30:20,840 Speaker 1: champions of freedom of the of the press, and his 504 00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:24,760 Speaker 1: motto is one that I love dare to know. And 505 00:30:25,280 --> 00:30:28,440 Speaker 1: again he was just challenging people go out there and 506 00:30:28,560 --> 00:30:32,840 Speaker 1: learn about something and don't just accept, uh what these 507 00:30:32,880 --> 00:30:36,920 Speaker 1: religious leaders are telling you you have to accept. And actually, um, 508 00:30:37,000 --> 00:30:41,000 Speaker 1: he came up with this idea called the categorical imperative. Basically, 509 00:30:41,120 --> 00:30:43,800 Speaker 1: can't gave the world the idea that there is such 510 00:30:43,800 --> 00:30:47,040 Speaker 1: a thing as moral absolutes right. And I guess he 511 00:30:47,080 --> 00:30:50,360 Speaker 1: didn't give the world that because the Judeo Christian ethic 512 00:30:50,560 --> 00:30:53,000 Speaker 1: and most religious ethics say that there is such a 513 00:30:53,040 --> 00:30:55,880 Speaker 1: thing as right or wrong. And today you have that 514 00:30:56,040 --> 00:30:59,560 Speaker 1: argument of is there such a thing as moral absolutism 515 00:30:59,720 --> 00:31:02,880 Speaker 1: or is moral or cultural relativism a thing? Right? That's 516 00:31:02,920 --> 00:31:05,200 Speaker 1: the argument. That's that one of the arguments that's playing 517 00:31:05,240 --> 00:31:09,480 Speaker 1: out right now in the intellectual world. Yeah. I just 518 00:31:09,520 --> 00:31:13,160 Speaker 1: think that's fascinating to it totally is Uh So, what 519 00:31:13,200 --> 00:31:17,320 Speaker 1: does this all lead to? Eventually, It's gonna lead to war, um, 520 00:31:17,360 --> 00:31:20,120 Speaker 1: because any time there is well not any time, but 521 00:31:20,360 --> 00:31:24,040 Speaker 1: a lot of times when there's a uprising of radical thought, 522 00:31:24,600 --> 00:31:27,440 Speaker 1: people are gonna want to take action. And it happened 523 00:31:27,520 --> 00:31:30,240 Speaker 1: in the United States by way of the American Revolution 524 00:31:30,920 --> 00:31:33,560 Speaker 1: and in France by way of the French Revolution, and 525 00:31:33,600 --> 00:31:37,280 Speaker 1: they had different results, to say the least, they were 526 00:31:37,280 --> 00:31:43,400 Speaker 1: both experimentations in this new idea of democracy. Yeah, pretty much, um, 527 00:31:43,480 --> 00:31:46,560 Speaker 1: And yeah, the American one worked out pretty well. Some 528 00:31:46,640 --> 00:31:50,440 Speaker 1: would say the French one not so much, because apparently 529 00:31:50,560 --> 00:31:54,160 Speaker 1: robes Pierre, who was the head of the Jacobin party 530 00:31:54,600 --> 00:31:58,000 Speaker 1: that took power during the French Revolution, robes Pierre was 531 00:31:58,040 --> 00:32:00,960 Speaker 1: a follower of Rousseau, I remember, was so contributed to 532 00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:04,920 Speaker 1: the social contract by saying, um, the people will something 533 00:32:05,160 --> 00:32:06,920 Speaker 1: and then it's up to the people in charge to 534 00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:09,840 Speaker 1: carry out that will. And so rose Pierre took that 535 00:32:09,880 --> 00:32:11,920 Speaker 1: to mean that the people stormed the best steal and 536 00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:15,080 Speaker 1: overthrew the monarchy. And so it was his job as 537 00:32:15,120 --> 00:32:16,800 Speaker 1: the head of the joke Coben party, which is now 538 00:32:16,880 --> 00:32:20,719 Speaker 1: empowered to kill everybody who wasn't down with the revolution. 539 00:32:21,120 --> 00:32:24,080 Speaker 1: And so thousands and thousands of French people lost their 540 00:32:24,080 --> 00:32:27,200 Speaker 1: lives at the guillotine um as a result during this 541 00:32:27,280 --> 00:32:31,080 Speaker 1: reign of terror. So some people would say, America, uh, 542 00:32:31,240 --> 00:32:36,160 Speaker 1: founded itself based on democratic principles, and um, let's not 543 00:32:36,160 --> 00:32:38,800 Speaker 1: pay attention to some of these darker spots over here 544 00:32:39,040 --> 00:32:41,560 Speaker 1: and just pay attention to the democratic experiment and it 545 00:32:41,600 --> 00:32:44,960 Speaker 1: worked out great, and then the French one, there's a revolution. 546 00:32:45,520 --> 00:32:49,800 Speaker 1: They tried to install democratic ideals and thousands of people 547 00:32:49,840 --> 00:32:52,520 Speaker 1: had their heads chopped off, so it didn't work quite 548 00:32:52,520 --> 00:32:55,160 Speaker 1: as well well. And some people say that effectively killed 549 00:32:55,160 --> 00:32:57,160 Speaker 1: the Age of Enlightenment as we know it. The French 550 00:32:57,200 --> 00:33:03,120 Speaker 1: Revolution because the chaos and violence erupted was in certain 551 00:33:03,160 --> 00:33:05,800 Speaker 1: circles blamed on the Enlightenment and proof that we can't 552 00:33:05,840 --> 00:33:08,560 Speaker 1: self govern and these are radical ideas and that's why 553 00:33:08,600 --> 00:33:11,640 Speaker 1: we got stomped on. Um. Have you ever heard the 554 00:33:11,640 --> 00:33:16,600 Speaker 1: theory that the French Revolution was due to moldy bread? No? Uh, 555 00:33:16,640 --> 00:33:20,360 Speaker 1: there's one theory that people got ahold of bad bread 556 00:33:21,360 --> 00:33:26,960 Speaker 1: poisoning and basically we're tripping on acid. On July fourteen nine, 557 00:33:26,960 --> 00:33:29,040 Speaker 1: when they decided to storm the Best Deal, that was 558 00:33:29,080 --> 00:33:32,959 Speaker 1: one of the explanations for the sale and witchcraft childs crazy. 559 00:33:33,000 --> 00:33:36,640 Speaker 1: I hadn't heard that, so they were like, let's it's 560 00:33:36,760 --> 00:33:41,440 Speaker 1: go time, so let's get this party started. But like 561 00:33:41,480 --> 00:33:43,680 Speaker 1: I said, some people say that ended the Age of 562 00:33:43,760 --> 00:33:47,360 Speaker 1: Enlightenment as we know it. Uh. Romanticism was soon ushered 563 00:33:47,400 --> 00:33:51,280 Speaker 1: in and was way more appealing to the common folk, 564 00:33:52,080 --> 00:33:57,480 Speaker 1: um than this weird radical thoughts that we're going on before, well, 565 00:33:57,520 --> 00:34:01,360 Speaker 1: it was Romanticism was the first time people questioned the 566 00:34:01,480 --> 00:34:07,480 Speaker 1: idea on a large scale that maybe the rationalism of 567 00:34:08,080 --> 00:34:11,440 Speaker 1: the humanism of the Enlightenment went too far in the 568 00:34:11,480 --> 00:34:15,000 Speaker 1: other direction, Like sure, maybe we were way too religious 569 00:34:15,000 --> 00:34:18,319 Speaker 1: and the religious organizations had way too much power, but 570 00:34:18,480 --> 00:34:22,600 Speaker 1: we swung way over here, and just rationalism had this 571 00:34:22,680 --> 00:34:25,000 Speaker 1: idea too, and it became dogmatic in and of its 572 00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:28,200 Speaker 1: own right. And so this is we still never really 573 00:34:28,239 --> 00:34:32,560 Speaker 1: figured out if how to how to fine tune it enough, 574 00:34:32,600 --> 00:34:35,120 Speaker 1: and that's what we're still figuring out right now. A 575 00:34:35,160 --> 00:34:39,919 Speaker 1: lot of people say, um, the Enlightenment the idea that 576 00:34:41,160 --> 00:34:46,080 Speaker 1: you're that the course of humanity is always towards civilization 577 00:34:46,239 --> 00:34:49,560 Speaker 1: and rational thought, and that any culture that's not there 578 00:34:49,800 --> 00:34:53,960 Speaker 1: is inferior to a culture that does think rationally. So 579 00:34:54,080 --> 00:34:58,959 Speaker 1: that means that colonialism and imperialism was supported by Enlightenment thought, 580 00:34:59,000 --> 00:35:02,440 Speaker 1: which is a huge Like the Enlightenment it's not supposed 581 00:35:02,480 --> 00:35:04,239 Speaker 1: to be about that's supposed to be about good things 582 00:35:04,280 --> 00:35:09,560 Speaker 1: and freedom and all that, but it also uh supported colonialism. 583 00:35:09,719 --> 00:35:12,040 Speaker 1: That was a huge that's people are arguing about that 584 00:35:12,160 --> 00:35:14,640 Speaker 1: right now too. Yeah, let's go conquer these people and 585 00:35:14,800 --> 00:35:17,640 Speaker 1: make them modern and bring them into today's world exactly. 586 00:35:18,120 --> 00:35:21,759 Speaker 1: So there there's another article I want to recommend. It's 587 00:35:21,800 --> 00:35:24,719 Speaker 1: called um the Trouble with the Enlightenment. It's by a 588 00:35:24,719 --> 00:35:28,760 Speaker 1: guy named Ali Cussin. It's on Prospect magazine. Awesome, awesome 589 00:35:28,840 --> 00:35:31,960 Speaker 1: article about this that's just he basically reviews a couple 590 00:35:31,960 --> 00:35:35,719 Speaker 1: of books, one one by Jonathan Israel, who I mentioned earlier, 591 00:35:35,960 --> 00:35:41,600 Speaker 1: where he basically says, like, forget the philosophics, you gotta 592 00:35:41,600 --> 00:35:45,279 Speaker 1: look at um Baruch Spinoza, who was a Dutch philosopher 593 00:35:45,320 --> 00:35:47,799 Speaker 1: from I think the seventeenth century. He was the one 594 00:35:47,840 --> 00:35:50,560 Speaker 1: who came up with the Enlightenment ideas, and had we 595 00:35:50,680 --> 00:35:54,200 Speaker 1: followed his Enlightenment ideas, there wouldn't have been any governments now, 596 00:35:54,360 --> 00:35:57,440 Speaker 1: or that there wouldn't be any religion whatsoever. He came 597 00:35:57,520 --> 00:36:00,840 Speaker 1: up with the real revolutionary Enlightenment, and what we got, 598 00:36:01,000 --> 00:36:03,160 Speaker 1: what we think of as the Enlightenment, was a watered down, 599 00:36:03,280 --> 00:36:07,320 Speaker 1: moderate version that was changed. Sure, there was tons of change, 600 00:36:07,600 --> 00:36:11,120 Speaker 1: but it was still palatable to the elite that the 601 00:36:11,640 --> 00:36:14,759 Speaker 1: people could still be governed easily even in these new 602 00:36:14,800 --> 00:36:17,480 Speaker 1: democratic experiments and stuff like that. There's a lot of 603 00:36:17,520 --> 00:36:20,360 Speaker 1: people who take issue with his book, but it's um 604 00:36:20,560 --> 00:36:27,600 Speaker 1: pretty interesting to discuss it Democratic Enlightenment. I think he's 605 00:36:27,640 --> 00:36:31,239 Speaker 1: the one who wrote that several thousand page trilogy. And 606 00:36:31,239 --> 00:36:34,320 Speaker 1: then there's another guy in a historian named Anthony Pageant. 607 00:36:34,680 --> 00:36:37,399 Speaker 1: He believes um that the Enlightenment project is still going 608 00:36:37,440 --> 00:36:39,840 Speaker 1: on and basically that as long as there's religion in 609 00:36:39,880 --> 00:36:44,000 Speaker 1: the world, the Enlightenment won't be fulfilled entirely, which is 610 00:36:44,600 --> 00:36:49,839 Speaker 1: again it's it's like this this idea that rationalism has 611 00:36:49,880 --> 00:36:52,759 Speaker 1: become dogmatic, and if you don't, if you're not just 612 00:36:52,800 --> 00:36:55,359 Speaker 1: strictly rational, if you hold any kind of what could 613 00:36:55,400 --> 00:36:59,440 Speaker 1: be considered irrational or superstitious belief, you're acting irrationally. You're 614 00:36:59,440 --> 00:37:02,400 Speaker 1: not thinking correctly, and therefore you have to be converted, 615 00:37:03,080 --> 00:37:08,560 Speaker 1: which is just as dogmatic. Yeah, lots going on right now, 616 00:37:08,880 --> 00:37:11,640 Speaker 1: huge time of change. And also go read The Dark 617 00:37:11,640 --> 00:37:16,280 Speaker 1: Age myth and Atheist Reviews God's Philosophers by Tim O'Neil 618 00:37:16,360 --> 00:37:21,160 Speaker 1: on Strange Notions dot com. Tip O'Neil, Tim O'Neal, And uh, 619 00:37:21,200 --> 00:37:23,520 Speaker 1: I think that's about it. Huh, that is it for me? 620 00:37:23,600 --> 00:37:25,239 Speaker 1: If you want to learn more about the Enlightnment, go 621 00:37:25,360 --> 00:37:28,759 Speaker 1: check out those three articles, or check out and check 622 00:37:28,800 --> 00:37:31,719 Speaker 1: out how the Enlightenment worked, and by typing that in 623 00:37:31,760 --> 00:37:34,319 Speaker 1: the search part, how stuff works. And now it's time 624 00:37:34,360 --> 00:37:38,720 Speaker 1: for listener mail. I'm gonna call this mad Cow theory 625 00:37:39,400 --> 00:37:42,200 Speaker 1: from Seattle. Hey, guys, just listen to your podcast on 626 00:37:42,320 --> 00:37:45,560 Speaker 1: fatal familial insomnia. In it, you mentioned the late eighteenth 627 00:37:45,560 --> 00:37:49,520 Speaker 1: century cases in Venice and then wondered about the unrelated 628 00:37:49,560 --> 00:37:52,640 Speaker 1: cases and what they were eating. This made me finally 629 00:37:52,640 --> 00:37:54,480 Speaker 1: sit down and write my first email. For years, I've 630 00:37:54,480 --> 00:37:57,400 Speaker 1: had a theory about prion disease and matt cow and 631 00:37:57,480 --> 00:38:01,040 Speaker 1: specific years ago, I was watching a program on Egyptian mummies. 632 00:38:01,280 --> 00:38:04,239 Speaker 1: They talked about how mummification may have started out with 633 00:38:04,280 --> 00:38:07,920 Speaker 1: the Pharaoh, but the practice eventually made it down to 634 00:38:09,040 --> 00:38:12,640 Speaker 1: uh call it budget mummification. They talked about how in 635 00:38:12,640 --> 00:38:17,120 Speaker 1: the late eighteenth nineteen century crypts of these early mummies 636 00:38:17,120 --> 00:38:20,319 Speaker 1: they would be ground up and sold as fertilizer, specifically 637 00:38:20,360 --> 00:38:23,120 Speaker 1: in England. Sometime later, when I learned about prions and 638 00:38:23,120 --> 00:38:27,400 Speaker 1: how nearly indestructible they were, I wondered, could ground up 639 00:38:27,480 --> 00:38:29,960 Speaker 1: mummies have been used to fertilize the field. Then a 640 00:38:30,040 --> 00:38:33,319 Speaker 1: cow comes along and eats grass but has been contaminated 641 00:38:33,360 --> 00:38:36,560 Speaker 1: with prions, leading to mad cow disease. The human eats 642 00:38:36,600 --> 00:38:41,120 Speaker 1: the mad cow's brain gets quit spelt yakups. Uh. So 643 00:38:41,160 --> 00:38:43,040 Speaker 1: I've always wondered it, could never figure out if you 644 00:38:43,040 --> 00:38:45,080 Speaker 1: could prove it or disprove it. If see if j 645 00:38:45,440 --> 00:38:51,120 Speaker 1: was a real mummy's curse of desecrated Egyptian corpses, and 646 00:38:51,160 --> 00:38:53,920 Speaker 1: that is Darren Gray in Seattle, and man, I just 647 00:38:54,000 --> 00:38:59,560 Speaker 1: like that kind of speaking of radical thought. I had 648 00:38:59,600 --> 00:39:02,440 Speaker 1: not heard that one. Darren's having it. Well, it's Darren's own. Uh, 649 00:39:04,360 --> 00:39:09,239 Speaker 1: nice going, Darren, Yeah. Uh, if you have anything to 650 00:39:09,239 --> 00:39:11,839 Speaker 1: say about that, anybody else we would like to hear 651 00:39:11,880 --> 00:39:18,160 Speaker 1: from you. Can you prove or disprove that Kritchfield yakubs 652 00:39:18,239 --> 00:39:21,120 Speaker 1: disease is a mommy's curse. You can tweet to us 653 00:39:21,440 --> 00:39:23,600 Speaker 1: at s Y s K podcast. You can join us 654 00:39:23,640 --> 00:39:26,040 Speaker 1: on Facebook dot com slash stuff you Should Know. You 655 00:39:26,040 --> 00:39:29,400 Speaker 1: can send us an email which seems appropriate to stuff 656 00:39:29,480 --> 00:39:32,480 Speaker 1: podcast at how Stuff Works dot com and join us 657 00:39:32,480 --> 00:39:34,520 Speaker 1: at at home on the web Stuff you Should Know 658 00:39:34,680 --> 00:39:42,120 Speaker 1: dot com for more on this and thousands of other 659 00:39:42,200 --> 00:39:51,600 Speaker 1: topics Is that how stuff works? Dot com