Western Civilization II
Chapter
Twenty-Five
“The Birth
of Modern European Thought”
The
New Reading Public
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In 1850 approximately one-half of western Europe was
illiterate while most of the population of Russia was
illiterate.
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Following the revolutions of 1848, mass public
education saw steady gains throughout Europe.
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By 1900, about 85% of the people of Western
Europe were literate, whereas in Eastern
Europe rates ranged from 30 to 60%.
The
Three- R’s
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Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic, was the basis for
public education throughout Europe.
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Conservatives and liberals both favored such education
in order to develop an better informed group of voters.
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They also hoped a better educated workforce would
allow for a more prosperous country.
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Supported the Enlightenment idea that : “right
knowledge would lead to right action.”
Readings for the
Masses
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A more literate Europe led to the development of a new
market for various reading materials.
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Cheap mass-circulation newspapers.
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Le Petit Journal (Paris)
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Daily Mail & Daily Express (London)
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Advertising found in the papers
promoted the purchase of new consumer products created by the Second Industrial
Revolution.
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Since most of the readership was only
semi-literate many of the newspapers of the day relied on sensationalism and
political scandals.
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Though overall the subject matter of
the literature of the day was quite low, it was a breeding ground for more
advanced learning and a more informed public.
Science of the Mid 19th Century
Positivism
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During the early 1800’s Auguste
Comte, later known as the “Father of Sociology,” would write his most famous work, The
Positive Philosophy.
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Comte believed that human thought had
developed in three logical stages.
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Theological Stage
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Physical nature explained in terms of
the actions of gods.
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Metaphysical Stage
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Abstract ideas were used to explain
natural laws.
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Positive Stage
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You can discover and explain laws of
social behavior thru research and experimentation.
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The work of Comte showed that
knowledge in any area of study should use scientific methods in discovering
solutions to social problems.
Charles
Darwin
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The Origin of Species, published in 1859, by Charles
Darwin, may have caused one of the greatest debates in history between the
world of religion and science.
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The idea of evolution was not new, but Darwin to explain
how various species had evolved over time.
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Darwin’s theory of natural selection not only
contradicted Genesis, but also the Deistic theories of the day.
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Though often credited with the phrase, “survival of
the fittest,” that phrase is actually the words of the sociologist, Herbert
Spencer.
The Descent of Man
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In 1871, Darwin applied his theories
to the evolution of man in his work, “The Descent of Man.”
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Darwin believed that man had evolved
physically and socially, naturalistically in response to the needs for
survival.
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Though met with great resistance, Darwin’s theory of evolution
was widely accepted by the beginning of the 1900s, but it was not until the
1920s were his ideas on natural selection supported, due to greater information
in the field of genetics.
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Aided by the work of Gregor Mendel
Herbert
Spencer
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As mentioned earlier, Herbert
Spencer, is credited with the phrase, “survival of the fittest.”
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Spencer believed that people
progressed and evolved through competition.
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If weak people are protected too much
by society, society as a whole will decline.
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Justified the denial of aid to the
poor and the domination of ethnic groups, or countries over one another.
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Does “might make right”?
“Christianity and the Church Under Siege”
Religious
Skepticism
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Many of the philosophes of the Enlightenment enjoyed
looking for contradictions with the Bible.
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1835, David Friedrich Strauss wrote The Life of
Jesus, in which he researched
whether information in the Bible was historically correct.
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The questioning of the historical validity of the
Bible caused many literate men and women
to begin to lose faith in the respective Churches.
Science
Vs. Religion
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The writers of the 19th century, exposed
the writings of 18th century philosophers and their attempt to use
science to support Christian believes.
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Between the works of Darwin and other
scientists such as William Paley and his work, Natural Theology, doubt
was cast upon such segments of the Bible such as Genesis.
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Another scientist of the day, was Charles Lyell, who
suggested that the earth was much older than estimated by the Bible.
Morality
and Christianity
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Other scholars questioned the morality of the
Christian Church.
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Friedrich Nietzsche, a German philosopher believed
that Christianity was a religion of sheep that glorified weakness rather than
strength.
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“War and courage have accomplished more great things
than love of neighbor.”
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This overall criticism against religion had its
greatest effect on the upper classes.
Church Against State
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The rising national states of Europe came into conflict with the
Protestant and Catholics Churches during the 19th century.
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One of the key areas of conflict was
in the control of education.
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The Education Act of 1879 in England called for the
development of state-supported schools run by elected school boards.
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The Church feared that these new
schools would not include religious dogma and ideology into its teachings.
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The English Education Act of 1902
provided state-support for both religious and secular schools but established
standards for each.
Education
in France
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In France, under the Falloux
Law, priests provided religious education within the public schools.
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This changed with the Ferry Laws
(Jules Ferry), which replaced religious training with instructions on
citizenship.
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Conflict between the Church and State
over education continued throughout the 19th century and in 1905,
the Napoleonic Concordat was terminated.
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Church and State schools were
completely separated.
German
Kulturkampf
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The greatest conflict between Church
and State occurred in Germany.
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After the unification of Germany in 1870, Bismarck believed the Catholic
Church and the Catholic Center Party to be a threat to his new government.
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In 1871, the German government took
over control of the schools in Germany from the church.
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The “May Laws” of 1873 was another
attempt, at least in Prussia to take control of the
Church within its borders.
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Bismarck’s attempt to de-Christianize Prussia, which was known as
Kulturekampf (cultural struggle), proved to be unsuccessful and one of Bismarck's greatest blunders
politically.
Revival
of the Church
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Though attacked throughout Europe, the Catholic Church survived.
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Protestant religions also survived
and increased its membership during the late 19th century.
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The church looked to the urban poor
and new converts to their various religions.
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During the last half of the 19th
century, the Christian churches of Europe and especially the Roman Catholic Church attempted one great final
attempt to Christianize Europe.
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The resources of the Church were not
sufficient to convert the growing population of Europe.
The Catholic Church
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Liberal views that developed in Europe during the early 19th
century came under attack by the Catholic Church during the latter half of the
century.
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Following Italian unification, Pope
Pius IX issued the Syllabus of Errors, condemning liberalism and modern
thought.
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Pope Pius firmly set the Catholic
Church against the contemporary views of science, philosophy and politics.
The
First Vatican Council
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The council supported the attempts by the Pope to put
down liberal views throughout Europe.
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The Council ended when Italian troops invaded Rome
during the Franco-Prussian War.
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The power of the papacy would soon be limited to the
newly created Vatican city.
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The papacy would also view itself only as a spiritual
leader rather than a political and temporal authority.
Pope Leo XIII
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Pope Pius was succeeded by Pope Leo XIII.
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Using the writings of Thomas Aquinas, Leo attempted to
solve some of the current problems of the Church in a new Europe.
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Pope Leo, saw the Catholic Church as a different kind
of political leader in the world.
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In his Rerum Novarum (1891) he defended private
property, religious education, and religious control of marriage laws.
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Leo also condemned socialism and Marxism, but believed
that employers should treat their employees fairly.
Pope
Leo’s Corporate Society
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Pope Leo XIII developed a compromise between socialism
and capitalism calling for a corporate society, including people from all
classes guided by Christian principles.
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Based upon feudal political organizations.
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Led to the development of Catholic political parties
as well as Catholic trade unions.
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Catholic political parties will come to dominate in
several European countries such as in Germany.
Pope
Pius X
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Much that was accomplished by Pope Leo XIII was undone
by Pope Pius X.
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Pope Pius wanted to restore the traditional views and
values of the Catholic Church.
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Later named as a saint, he required all priests to
take an anti-Modernist oath.
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Though now against most modern intellectual thought of
the day, the Catholic Church continued to allow people to participate actively
in political and social movements.
A New Way of Thinking
Toward a 20th
Century Frame of Mind
Science
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Several developments occurred in the
scientific community in the latter half of the 19th century and
early 20th century.
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Wilhelm Roentgen discovered x-rays.
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Henri Becquerel discovered that
uranium emitted a similar form of energy.
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JJ. Thomson formulated the theory of
the electron.
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Ernest Rutherford developed the
theory explaining the cause of radiation.
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Albert Einstein developed his
theories on relativity.
Literature
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Realism and naturalism were the main
ingredients to literature of the late 19th century.
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Charles Dickens wrote of the reality
of life for the poor in industrialized England.
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Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary is
often considered the first realistic novel.
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Emile Zola turned realism into a
social movement.
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L’Assormmoir discussed the problems
of alcoholism.
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Nana delved into the life of a
prostitute.
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George Bernard Shaw wrote about
reality of love and war and not their romantic ideals.
Modernism
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The modernistic views of Europe were
not just seen in literature of the day.
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All areas of the arts were effected.
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In music, painting, sculpture, and literature
a new way of thinking progressed causing many changes away from traditional
views.
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For example the “Cubism” of Pablo
Picasso in his painting saw a dramatic change for art of the early 19th
century.
Friedrich
Nietzsche
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One of the great philosophers of the late 19th
century was Friedrich Nietzsche.
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His writings didn’t propose to change social values
but explore how these values developed.
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Nietzsche also criticized various powerful
institutions of the day such as democracy and Christianity.
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Both would lead to the mediocrity of sheepish masses.
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Nietzsche was also critical of racism and
anti-Semitism.
Sigmund
Freud
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As a doctor he became interested in
psychic disorders.
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Early in his career he studied the
use of hypnosis to solve hysteria and other psychic disorders.
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Freud will eventually begin to allow
his patients to talk about their past and soon discovered the relationship with
past events and the problems his clients faced.
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Freud will also investigate the use
of dream interpretation to help his clients try to understand their problems.
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His theories also looked at
personality development
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Id, Ego, and Super Ego
Max
Weber
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A prominent sociologist of the latter 19th
century was Max Weber.
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Believed that the rational development of social
institutions helped society to advance.
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His Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism,
showed the relationship of the Protestant Reformation and how its ideas led to the
later development of capitalism throughout Europe.
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In other research, Weber studied the use of
bureaucracies in society.
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Considered a “Necessary evil.”
Feminism
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The feminist movement also began to grow during the
latter 19th century.
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Women began to challenge their roles in society as
“mothers.”
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Challenged the double standard of sexual morality.
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How working conditions and low wages forced many women
into prostitution.
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Unequal educational attainment.
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The right to vote.
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Due to their lack of support many women turned to
socialism as a possible venue to gain rights within their society.