enlightened absolutism

Examples of enlightened absolutism in the following topics:

• Enlightened Despotism

  • Enlightened despots, inspired by the ideals of the Age of Enlightenment, held that royal power emanated not from divine right but from a social contract whereby a despot was entrusted with the power to govern in lieu of any other governments.
  • Although major thinkers of the Age of Enlightenment are credited for the development of government theories that were critical to the creation and evolution of the modern civil-society-driven democratic state, among the first ideas resulting from the political ideals of the Enlightenment was enlightened despotism (or enlightened absolutism).
  • In effect, the monarchs of enlightened absolutism strengthened their authority by improving the lives of their subjects.
  • The difference between a despot and an enlightened despot is based on a broad analysis of the degree to which they embraced the Age of Enlightenment.
  • However, historians debate the actual implementation of enlightened despotism.

• Joseph II and Domestic Reform

  • As a proponent of enlightened absolutism, Joseph II introduced a series of reforms that affected nearly every realm of life in his empire, but his commitment to modernization engendered significant opposition, which eventually led to a failure to fully implement his programs.
  • When Maria Theresa died in 1780, Joseph became the absolute ruler over the most extensive realm of Central Europe.
  • This made him one of the most committed enlightened despots.
  • As a man of the Enlightenment, he ridiculed the contemplative monastic orders, which he considered unproductive.
  • Joseph's  enlightened despotism included also the Patent of Toleration, enacted in 1781, and the Edict of Tolerance in 1782. 

• Frederick the Great

  • Frederick William I, popularly dubbed as the Soldier-King, possessed a violent temper and ruled Brandenburg-Prussia with absolute authority.
  • In 1739, Frederick finished his Anti-Machiavel, an idealistic refutation of Machiavelli but as opposed to promoting more democratic principles of the Enlightenment, Frederick was a proponent of enlightened absolutism.

• Thomas Hobbes

  • Thomas Hobbes, an English philosopher and scientist, was one of the key figures in the political debates of the Enlightenment period, who introduced a social contract theory based on the relation between the absolute sovereign and the civil society.
  • The Enlightenment was a philosophical movement that dominated the world of ideas in Europe in the 18th century.
  • The Enlightenment has also been hailed as the foundation of modern Western political and intellectual culture. 
  • Despite advocating the idea of absolutism of the sovereign, Hobbes developed some of the fundamentals of European liberal thought: the right of the individual; the natural equality of all men; the artificial character of the political order (which led to the later distinction between civil society and the state); the view that all legitimate political power must be "representative" and based on the consent of the people; and a liberal interpretation of law which leaves people free to do whatever the law does not explicitly forbid.

• Roots of the Scientific Revolution

  • The scientific revolution began in Europe towards the end of the Renaissance period and continued through the late 18th century, influencing the intellectual social movement known as the Enlightenment.
  • During the scientific revolution, changing perceptions about the role of the scientist in respect to nature, the value of evidence, experimental or observed, led towards a scientific methodology in which empiricism played a large, but not absolute, role.
  • By the 18th century, when the Enlightenment flourished, scientific authority began to displace religious authority and the disciplines until then seen as legitimately scientific, e.g.
  • Science came to play a leading role in Enlightenment discourse and thought.
  • Broadly speaking, Enlightenment science greatly valued empiricism and rational thought and was embedded with the Enlightenment ideal of advancement and progress.

• Enlightenment Ideals

  • The Age of Enlightenment, also known as the Enlightenment, was a philosophical movement that dominated the world of ideas in Europe in the 18th century.
  • The Enlightenment took hold in most European countries, often with a specific local emphasis.
  • The Scottish Enlightenment, with its mostly liberal Calvinist and Newtonian focus, played a major role in the further development of the transatlantic Enlightenment.
  • Science came to play a leading role in Enlightenment discourse and thought.
  • Broadly speaking, Enlightenment science greatly valued empiricism and rational thought and was embedded with the Enlightenment ideal of advancement and progress.

• Natural Rights

  • Natural rights, understood as those that are not dependent on the laws, customs, or beliefs of any particular culture or government, and therefore universal and inalienable, were central to the Enlightenment debates on the relation between the individual and the government.
  • During the Enlightenment, the concept of natural laws was used to challenge the divine right of kings and became an alternative justification for the establishment of a social contract, positive law, and government – and thus legal rights – in the form of classical republicanism (built around concepts such as civil society, civic virtue and mixed government).
  • Although natural rights have been discussed since antiquity, it was the philosophers of the Age of Enlightenment that developed the modern concept of natural rights that has been critical to the modern republican government and civil society.
  • In the German Enlightenment, Georg Hegel gave a highly developed treatment of the inalienability argument.
  • Locke argued against slavery on the basis that enslaving yourself goes against the law of nature: you cannot surrender your own rights, your freedom is absolute and no one can take it from you.

• John Locke

  • John Locke, an English philosopher and physician, is regarded as one of the most influential Enlightenment thinkers, whose work greatly contributed to the development of the notions of social contract and natural rights.
  • John Locke was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "Father of Liberalism." 
  • His writings influenced Voltaire and Rousseau, many Scottish Enlightenment thinkers, as well as the American revolutionaries.
  • In addition, he participated in drafting the Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina, which established a feudal aristocracy and gave a master absolute power over his slaves.

• Introduction to the Enlightenment

  • The Enlightenment, also known as the Age of Enlightenment, was a philosophical movement which dominated the world of ideas in Europe in the 18th century.
  • There were two distinct lines of Enlightenment thought: the radical enlightenment, inspired by the philosophy of Spinoza, advocating democracy, individual liberty, freedom of expression, and eradication of religious authority.
  • While the Enlightenment cannot be pigeonholed into a specific doctrine or set of dogmas, science came to play a leading role in Enlightenment discourse and thought.
  • Broadly speaking, Enlightenment science greatly valued empiricism and rational thought and was embedded with the Enlightenment ideal of advancement and progress.
  • As with most Enlightenment views, the benefits of science were not seen universally.

• Scientific Exploration

  • Science, based on empiricism and rational thought and embedded with the Enlightenment ideal of advancement and progress, came to play a leading role in Enlightenment discourse and thought.
  • While the Enlightenment cannot be pigeonholed into a specific doctrine or set of dogmas, science came to play a leading role in Enlightenment discourse and thought.
  • Broadly speaking, Enlightenment science greatly valued empiricism and rational thought and was embedded with the Enlightenment ideal of advancement and progress.
  • However, as with most Enlightenment views, the benefits of science were not seen universally.
  • Enlightenment-era changes in law also continue to shape legal systems today.