ARTH 103 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Secularism, Pseudoscience, Proletariat
Document Summary
Characterizedy by supreme faith in rational thought to see the truth of the world, for social and economic progress. Humans are capable of being ethical & moral apart from religious ideas & values; requires rational thought applied to all decision making. Rejects religious dogma, superstition, pseudoscience, and supernaturalism. > enlightenment fundamentally secular (non-religious) in principles, concerns, values. > deism - concept of clockmaker god ; expresses enlightenment rationalism & secularism. Cosmos is a mechanism created by rational god; can be taken apart and understood. Can be based upon scienti c experiments or rational observation of nature & humanity. Propositions accepted only if veri able by compelling evidence. Advances in industrial technology expressed the practical advantages of natural science. Labor-saving technology illustrated triumph of enlightenment rationalism & empirical approach to understanding & controlling nature. Saved human labor & cost, generated wealth that caused creation of the bourgoisie (wealthy upper-middle class) & proletariat (working class)
