Term Paper on "Enlightenment Movement"

Term Paper 4 pages (1317 words) Sources: 2 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Enlightenment

The Declaration of the Rights of Women" versus "The Declaration of the Rights of Man"

Enlightenment thought posited that the human animal, defined as the male animal in "The Declaration of the Rights of Man" of 1789, was inherently free in its natural state. However, social laws and customs hemmed most of humanity in, and limited the freedom of the human potential for goodness. Limitations upon freedom were occasionally necessary, for the common good, but more often limitations by law were placed upon persons to enrich the ruling classes for the profit of the minority. Thus, "The Declaration of the Rights of Man" held in Article 6: "All citizens, being equal in the eyes of the law, are equally eligible to all dignities and to all public positions and occupations, according to their abilities, and without distinction except that of their virtues and talents."

Many women, including many women of the French Revolution, took these ideas quite seriously -- the word "citizens" of "The Declaration of the Rights of Man" was not read to merely include men, but women as well by many female citizens. According to Olympe de Gouges in 1791, not only were women equally free in a state of nature as their male counterparts, but the original French Revolution had done little to profit the female sex, despite considerable female support for the revolution and its underlying Enlightenment ideals. Just as the male members of the human race, the members of the second and third estates, deserved freedom, so did women. "The powerful empire of nature is no longer surrounded by prejudice, fanaticism, superstition, and lies," she said. Rationality must prevail instead.

De Gouges thus agreed with the prevailing Enlightenment sentiment that religion was nothing but a series of lies and half-truths, and that in a state of free nature, human beings were best able to explore their intellectual breath and depth -- and a proper definition of humanity included women. Rationality and reason should govern the rule of law, as opposed to custom and class, both of which reinforced the imbalanced state of relations of the genders. The "Declaration of the Rights of Man" proclaimed an end to "ignorance," and the neglect of human rights, so did the "Declaration of the Rights of Women," in a far more radical and inclusive manner.

The ideas of "The Declaration of the Rights of Man" posited that merely because the ruling elites had dominance over the poorer classes did not make royalty inherently superior to those who, from historical misfortune, lacked the social privilege of high birth. The first listed Article read: "Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be founded only upon the general good." Similarly De Gouges wrote: "In the centuries of corruption you [women] ruled only over the weakness of men. The reclamation of your patrimony, based on the wise decrees of nature-what have you to dread from such a fine undertaking?"

The reclamation of natural rights outside of the outmoded, false notions of intellectual superstition is again, quintessential Enlightenment discourse. However note that De Gouges angrily writes her tract in an accusing voice, to first rally females, before she calls upon men to enter into a mutual social contract with women. This is a distinct difference in tone than the "Declaration of the Rights of Man's" general principles that cagily exclude the female sex in some statements but not in others, as "citizens" is only occasionally used as a gender-inclusive term.

The falseness of marriage, as it is a socially constructed state, is heralded by the 1791 words of De Gouges: "Marriage is the tomb of trust and love. The married woman can with impunity give bastards to her husband, and also give them the wealth which does not belong to them." Marriage is a tomb because it limits women's physical, social, and emotional freedom, and it is not really legitimate because it is a man-created… READ MORE

How to Reference "Enlightenment Movement" Term Paper in a Bibliography

Related Term Papers:

Enlightenment and Its Effects on the French Revolution Thesis

Enlightenment and the French Revolution

The Enlightenment represents a period of intellectual advancement characterized by a burgeoning espousal of secularism, humanity, and freedom from the late sixteenth century to the… read more

Thesis 8 pages (2092 words) Sources: 5 Style: MLA Topic: Religion / God / Theology

---

Enlightenment Represents a Stage in Western Philosophy Thesis

Enlightenment represents a stage in Western philosophy and culture which spanned the eighteenth century, and advocated Reason as the primary source of authority. As a movement, the beginning of the… read more

Thesis 5 pages (1662 words) Sources: 6 Style: MLA Topic: Government / Politics

---

Enlightenment in Europe Thesis

Enlightenment in Europe

The Enlightenment was a stage in Western philosophy and culture which spanned the eighteenth century, and advocated Reason as the primary source of authority. England anticipated the… read more

Thesis 4 pages (1235 words) Sources: 3 Style: MLA Topic: Literature / Poetry

---

Compare the Effects of the Enlightenment on Christianity and on Islam Religions Essay

Enlightenment on Christianity and on Islam religions

Religion and the Enlightenment

The Enlightenment refers to the zeitgeist of the 17th and 18th centuries that originated in Europe and spread to… read more

Essay 2 pages (618 words) Sources: 2 Topic: Religion / God / Theology

---

Post Enlightenment Political Thought Term Paper

post-enlightenment period we see the increasing acknowledgment, both for better and worse, of groups who had historically been marginalized or ignored by traditional European political thought. Where before Jews had… read more

Term Paper 12 pages (3970 words) Sources: 5 Topic: Religion / God / Theology

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>