Study Questions
on
The Heavenly City of the Eighteenth-Century Philosophers,
by Carl Becker
Terms:
(be prepared to identify and indicate the historical significance for these phenomena): les philosophes, "Philosophers", "new history", Denis Diderot, Montesquieu's Esprit des lois, "climates of opinion," natural law, and the essential articles of Enlightenment religion.Essays:
1) How does Becker explain the social and political thought of the eighteenth century in terms of climates of opinion? [What does the phrase mean? Why is Weltanshauung so different?] What world views is he contrasting and what does he seek to justify?
2) How does Becker answer the question of Volney, "What is natural law?" What is the meaning and what are the underlying assumptions of the concept of natural law?
3) Explain precisely what history has to do with Becker's explanation of the Enlightenment. How were the philosophes returning to an occupation dismissed by John Locke and why is this important?
4) Explicate Becker's claim that the philosophes created "a heavenly city of the eighteenth century."