Powerful Enlightened Depots

Both Enlightened rulers sought to strengthen their state, but had a different approach in order to achieve it. Frederick the Great implemented his reforms unhurriedly and steadily, whereas Joseph II emphasized his reforms more radically and at a more rapid pace. Frederick the Great trusted the nobility and thought of them as the foundation of the social structure. Thus, granting the nobility more power over the serfs. On the other hand, Joseph II believed that allowing serfs to have greater power would, in turn, strengthen the country. By cause of this, Joseph II abolished serfdom. The critical thinking of the Enlightenment greatly influenced the revived changes that were emphasized in Prussia and Austria. However, not all of the policies adhered to the standards of the Enlightenment.

Between the 17th and 18th century, Enlightenment ideas that originated from France spread to other parts of Europe. Prior to the Enlightenment, absolute monarchs ruled most of Europe. Over time, citizens began to question the monarch’s power with ideas from philosophes such as Voltaire and John Locke. The philosophers concluded that society’s problems could be solved using a method of logic and reason. Also known as the Age of Reason, the Enlightenment inspired societal change and evolution. Through the use of logic and reason, enlightened despots of the 18th century were influenced by the social, political, and economic aspects of the Enlightenment.

Frederick the Great of Prussia and Joseph II of Austria adopted the newfound ideas of the Enlightenment to different extents with Frederick the Great advancing the ideas by implementing religious toleration, freedom of speech and press, and setting a single code of laws for all of his subjects and not advancing them by not abolishing serfdom for fear of upsetting the “Junkers”, or Prussian nobility; Joseph II advanced the ideas of the Enlightenment eagerly by completely abolishing serfdom paying no heed to what it could cause socially and politically and he didn’t advance these ideas in the end because his many reforms caused alienation of the church and nobility and radical changes in social hierarchy.

The Age of Enlightenment, a movement during the 17th and 18th century started from the Europeans, later moving into American colonies. The point of this movement was for the society to reform on a new base such as emphasizing reason and individualism over tradition. Enlightenment thinkers, Montesquieu, Rousseau, Beccaria, Locke, and Voltaire helped launched this project amongst Europeans. John Locke, for example, criticized absolute monarchy and favored self-government. Voltaire also believed that people should be able to speak their minds without the fear they may be punished. Through these philosophy influence, this eventually leads to European rulers ruling with a sense of equality, democratic governance, and abolition.

Voltaire is considered as one of the greatest Enlightenment writers in France for his extensive use of literary elements to convey his message. Voltaire satirizes different aspects of society to expose their absurdity in most of his writings. In Candide, Voltaire, by employing situational irony, mocks the blindness of society, magnifying the narrow-minded human nature.

One enlightened absolutist was Frederick the Great of Prussia. He was the most successful enlightened absolutists. Frederick the Great showed patronage for philosophes when he let French philosopher, Voltaire, stay at his court. Enlightened monarchs had to care for the

The Enlightenment was an intellectual and philosophical movement that dominated the world of ideas in Europe during the 18th century. Frederick the Great of Prussia and Joseph II of Austria both had a focus on educating their citizens. However, both had similar actions to religion during the Enlightenment, both advocated for religious freedom. Frederick and Joseph differed in option when it came to the serfs of their country. Joseph's support for changing ideals led to lasting change in Europe. By issuing the Robot Patent Decree in 1789, Joseph paved the way for complete abolition of Feudalism in 1848.

Francois-Marie Arouet, better known by his pen name “Voltaire”, once said “Nothing is more dangerous than ignorance and intolerance armed with power”. This quote criticizes the government and the Catholic Church - two institutions known for their lack of tolerance, respect, and value of the common person’s life. Voltaire was a French author, historian, and philosopher who was active during the age of enlightenment in the 18th century. It was a time characterized by the discussion of four new values: Humanitarianism, ending suffering; Progress, furthering society; Rationality, using logic and reason to improve the world; and Freedom of Thought, challenging traditional authority, blind obedience, and superstition. Voltaire is known for

The Enlightenment era was a new intellectual movement that stressed reason and thought and the power of individuals to solve problems. Even though different philosophers approached their goal differently, they achieved it none the less. They all approached their goal differently due to their different upbringings, their different backgrounds, and most importantly their different environments. A few among the many enlightened thinkers were Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Baron Do Montesquieu, and Jean Jacques Rousseau. While some of their idea’s are not used in modern society, they were all instrumental to the modern society we live in today.

Catherine ruled autocratically. She was a great political leader, an absolutist and ruled as an enlightened monarch, referring to the historical period of Enlightenment during the 18th and 19th centuries. Catherine was greatly influenced by her many friendships with the western European thinkers of the Enlightenment, including Voltaire and Denis Diderot. She was able to distinguish herself from other monarchs by the way she governed. She believed her purpose was to develop and care for her subjects, rather than please the nobility. This was contrary to the beliefs of all

Enlightenment philosophers, like Voltaire, railed against organized theocracies and argued that religion prevented rational inquiry while it endorsed repression, tyranny and war. The philosophy of Immanuel Kant, who sought, “liberation of the human mind from the dogmatic state of ignorance,” had a major impact on the future ideology of revolutionaries.4 It was Enlightenment ideas which challenged people to question religious orthodoxy and use their own intelligence to draw conclusions about the legitimacy of traditional authority. These philosophies were the foundation of modern, egalitarian, democratic societies which would later replace Louis XVI’s absolutist monarchy. Enlightenment ideals had profound effects upon the politics of the early and mid-nineteenth century. However, a severe backlash against rationalism and liberal ideologies in France caused the return of church-state power; while conversely, in the state of Prussia, Enlightenment ideals inspired a suppression of the church’s power.5 Whether or not Enlightenment ideals and values were able to root themselves permanently in society, the introduction and widespread acceptance of secular ideas created major changes across Europe.

Philosophers like Kant and Voltaire were recognized in their lifetimes for their contributions to the European Enlightenment and are still mainstays of philosophical study in academic institutions today. These two philosophers were united in their advocacy for religious tolerance, encouragement of rationalism,and emphasis on the rights of the individual. In 1712, Frederick the Great was born into this rapidly changing intellectual environment and grew up during the early years of the Enlightenment. As a young man, he took full advantage of the philosophical ideas that were becoming prevalent in European intellectual circles and immersed himself in philosophy and the arts. His father, Frederick I, a conservative monarch of the European “old school” was horrified.

He was impressed by the freedom of thought in England (“Voltaire | Author and Philosopher”). He studied the works of John Locke, and adapted them to fit his own ways of conveying messages to the French revolutionists, such as writing Locke’s ideas and theories into a novel that could be read by anyone. Through his writing, Voltaire attempted to “bring about reform of the social and legal structure that existed at the time” (“Voltaire”1). His works spoke out against war, religious intolerance, and political and social injustice. He learned to speak and write what he truly thought from studying the works of both Locke and Newton (“Voltaire”2).

The brilliant movement known as the Enlightenment brought about many changes in areas such as politics and culture, changes that are still seen in today’s society. The era known as The age of enlightenment is an era from the 1650’s to the 1780’s in which cultural forces emphasized reason, analysis, and individualism rather than following the norm of authority. The Enlightenment era will forever be recognized and praised throughout history as a period in time where brilliant Ideologist were formed such as Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Marx portrayed his own interpretations of what he believed Enlightenment was and what it represented not only to himself but to society as a whole. According to Marx and Engels, “In order for there to be progress, there must first be this considerable change that takes place in the lower class of society” (pg. 57, Communist manifesto). For example, one way that Marx believed would allow the appropriate spread of enlightenment ideas would be to abolish the traditional

Enlightened absolutism was a new idea during the time of the Enlightenment. It was a system where rulers maintained their full royal power while trying to govern by Enlightenment principles. One ruler specifically stands out among the rest as someone who embodied this new idea. This ruler was Frederick the Great. He was one of the most highly educated monarchs of his time and was willing to use Enlightenment principles. He abolished the use of torture except in cases of murder and treason as well as granting limited freedom of speech and press. He also granted more religious toleration. Because of all these reasons, Frederick the Great has fulfilled the idea of enlightened absolutism.