Enligthenment

In this paper we point out that certain structural-typological and thematic motific traits of the work show that Turkish Letters bears the dominant attributes of the Enlightenment Epoch. Starting from the very genre – letters, which was popular in the period of universal anti-dogmatism and relativism, when learned dialogue, conversation – both spoken and written, talk and correspondence, exchange of opinions, all the way to the thematic-motific layer that covers the most significant themes of the Epoch – philosophic and critical opinions of religion, social problems, education and upbringing in accordance with age, philosophy of history, problems of cognition, ethics, deism and rationalism. We also point out to the influence of Voltaire and Rousseau and show how and why popular oriental themes fitted into enlightenment critical discourse, supporting anti-dogmatism and relativism. Though the incoherence of the work is obvious, just as it is noticeable that the letters are not quite soundly mutually connected (neither are they connected by the reciprocity of usual correspondence), reading them carefully we notice that almost each of them establishes a dialogue of its kind dealing with general themes or ideas of enlightenment, refracting them through a critical or parodic-humorous author’s viewer.

Il Mezzogiorno ha costituito, rispetto all'espandersi dell'Islam, il piú tormentato confine tra due mondi, l'avamposto d'Europa, un argine a difesa della civiltà occidentale. E tuttavia le popolazioni meridionali, finite ai margini dell'orbita spagnola, furono disarmate dal governo centrale, che della nobiltà di spada non poteva fidarsi, avendone sperimentato l'indipendenza. Infatti la sanguinosa rivoluzione che scoppiò a Napoli nel 1547 contro la violenta autocrazia del viceré Pedro de Toledo indusse la corte spagnola ad adottare verso i benestanti una mediazione politica fondata sull'incremento del debito pubblico, la cui amministrazione e tutela fu affidata alle magistrature di toga e ai Seggi nobiliari di Napoli. Ne nacque un modello di sviluppo 'coloniale', che esaltò la burocrazia, mortificando, con la gente d'armi, la tecnologia, la difesa dei mercati e lo spirito imprenditoriale. Inoltre impedí che si superasse l'ambigua conciliazione medievale tra formalismo idealistico assoluto e dominio pratico dell'egoismo e del cinismo.

Grande parte das colecções científicas da Universidade de Coimbra
são hoje geridas pelo Museu da Ciência, inaugurado em Dezembro
de 2006. A sua sede está instalada num edifício neoclássico magnificamente recuperado, o Laboratorio Chimico, contemporâneo do
nascimento da química moderna, construído entre 1773 e 1777 a
mando do Marquês de Pombal e o mais antigo edifício laboratório
químico do mundo que manteve esta função quase até aos nossos
dias. Os primeiros objectos das colecções do Museu da Ciência datam
igualmente, na sua maioria, do Século das Luzes. Muito contribuíram
para a riqueza do espólio as Viagens Philosophicas de Alexandre
Rodrigues Ferreira, mas também a transferência para Coimbra da colecção de física experimental do Colégio dos Nobres em Lisboa.
Parte do acervo do Museu da Ciência pode ainda hoje ser visitado
nas salas originais do século XVIII, no Colégio de Jesus, mais um
edifício do complexo jesuítico transformado pelo Marquês de Pombal
com o objectivo de promover em Coimbra o ensino experimental
das ciências.

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Throughout his teaching career, Antonio Genovesi invoked history to explain to the students of “trade and mechanics” how the Kingdom of Naples came to be lagging behind the wealthy nations of north-western Europe and what should be done in order to make the kingdom flourish again. This article explores the three constitutive elements of Genovesi’s philosophy of history: an immutable human nature; the refinement of the arts and sciences; the history of individual nations as accidents of geography and politics made it. Genovesi proclaimed the victory of modern commercial societies over ancient societies and savage nations, but his regard remained anchored the necessities of the European backward periphery. He attributed therefore a providential role to the Sovereign, the sole authority that could reconnect national and universal history.

Este artículo trata sobre la intervención de Agustín Sanz (1724-1801), el más importante arquitecto aragonés de la época de la Ilustración, en la construcción de la nueva Iglesia de la Natividad de Nuestra Señora en La Puebla de Híjar (Teruel). Agustín Sanz no fue el diseñador de esta iglesia pero desde 1765 hasta 1772 fue el supervisor general del proceso constructivo de la misma y fue autorizado por el IX Duque de Híjar para introducir gran cantidad de modificaciones en este edificio. Estos cambios, llevados a cabo en un incipiente estilo barroco clasicista, transformaron profundamente la apariencia final de la  Iglesia de la Natividad de Nuestra Señora.   

This article is about the intervention of Agustín Sanz (1724-1801), the most important Aragonese architect of the Enlightenment time, in the construction of  the new Church of the Nativitity of Our Lady in La Puebla de Híjar (Teruel). Agustín Sanz wasn`t the designer of this church, but since 1765 until 1772 he was the general supervisor of the construction process and he was allowed by the IX Duke of Híjar to introduce a lot of changes in this building. This changes, made in an incipient classical baroque sytle, transformed deeply the final appearance of the Church of the Nativity of Our Lady.

Mit der Erkundung und Eroberung der Neuen Welt beginnt die Geschichte eines europäischen Bewusstseins von Globalisierung. Das Schlüsselthema unserer Zeit hat besonders in der Aufklärung Konjunktur. Die hierfür zentrale «Berliner Debatte» legt die entscheidenden Fragen zu den konkurrierenden Weltbildern zwischen Alter und Neuer Welt offen. Der hiermit vorliegende Text ist die Einleitung zu einer zweibändigen Publikatoin, die Forschungsgrundlage und Forschungsergebnisse zugleich bietet: Band 1 analysiert in zahlreichen Fachbeiträgen die kultur- und wissenschaftshistorischen Perspektiven der «Berliner Debatte». Band 2 bietet erstmals einen repräsentativen Querschnitt ihrer Texte und Kontexte: Acosta, Garcilaso de la Vega, Fontenelle, Voltaire, La Condamine, Friedrich II., Alfieri, Raynal, Clavijero, León y Gama, die Enzyklopädisten, Georg Forster, Teresa de Mier, Alexander von Humboldt und Victor Séjour.

In einer Nische der europäischen Briefkultur entstand im 18. Jahrhundert ein Medium, das zwischen gedrucktem Periodikum, Privatkorrespondenz und Diplomatenpost zu verorten ist. Literarische Korrespondenten versorgten die europäischen Höfe mit den neuesten Nachrichten aus Paris. Durch die Versendung in Form handschriftlich verfasster Briefe konnten diese correspondances littéraires die Zensur umgehen. So fanden Rezensionen, Berichte über Theater- und Musikaufführungen, philosophische Novitäten, politisch Brisantes, Salonklatsch und Modetrends ihren Weg in die Hände von Adeligen und anderen Privilegierten fern von Paris. Gleichzeitig bedeutendste und eigentümlichste Vertreterin dieses Medientypus war die von 1753 bis 1775 von Friedrich Melchior Grimm geführte Correspondance littéraire, philosophique et critique. Bedeutend aufgrund von Umfang und Auswahl des Autoren- und Empfängerkreises; eigentümlich vor allem durch die spezifische Medialität, die sich unter Grimm herausbildete: Durch Nutzung des strategischen Potenzials der Briefform konnten aufklärerische Ideen im exklusiven Kreis diskutiert und verbreitet werden.

Comme réponse à la critique postmoderne, un courant est surgi récemment, qui vise à enlever l'héritage de la philosophie des Lumières et de récupérer l'importance, jusqu'à ici assez négligée par l'historiographie officielle, de sa lutte contre l'esclavage et la colonisation. À part son caractère revendicatif, ce qui caractérise ce nouvel courant c'est l'essai de construire une histoire véritablement « universelle », qui puisse s'intégrer avec l'histoire des lumières européennes. Tandis que l'influence de la philosophie des lumières sur la Révolution française et la nord-américaine a été bien étudiée dans le cas spécifique de la décolonisation de l'Amérique Latine il y a beaucoup moins écrit, surtout en langue anglaise et française. C'est pour cela qu'ici nous proposons d'explorer cette influence, en se concentrant sur un épisode très concret : nous nous référons à la « Révolution orientale », propulsée par le caudillo uruguayen José Artigas au Rio de la Plata (Uruguay et Argentine). Le vote universel, la réforme agraire, la favorisation des plus faibles, la défense de la laïcité, l'accent mis sur la liberté individuelle et « souveraineté des peuples », etc. sont des mesures de l'artiguismo, cohérentes avec ce qui a été décrit par Jonathan Israel comme les « lumières radicales ». Cependant, Artigas a reçu peu d'attention dans la littérature sur la pensée radicale. En vue de ça, le texte suivant propose un double but : d'une part, faire connaître la « Révolution orientale » impulsée par Artigas ainsi que ses origines culturelles, intellectuelles et, d'autre part, faire dialoguer cet épisode ponctuel avec les débats contemporains concernant la philosophie des Lumières et, en concret, du courant radical. Nous conclurons que, de la même manière que nous affirmons la filiation d'Artigas aux mouvements des Lumières, il semble constituer une autre forme de radicalité, qui présente des caractéristiques propres du contexte rioplatense.

As a response to the postmodern criticism, a current has recently emerged, which seeks to defend the legacy of Enlightenment philosophy and to recover the importance, until now neglected by official historiography, of its struggle against slavery and colonization. Apart from its defensive character, what characterizes this new trend is the attempt to construct a truly "universal" history, which could be integrated within the general history of the European Enlightenment. While the influence of the philosophy of the Enlightenment on the French and the North American revolutions has been well studied, in the specific case of the decolonization of Latin America there is much less written, especially in English and French. This is why, we propose here to explore this influence, concentrating on a very concrete episode: we refer to the so-called "Revolución Oriental", propelled by the Uruguayan caudillo José Artigas in the Rio de la Plata (Argentina and Uruguay). Universal vote, agrarian reform, the favoring the weakest, the defense of secularism, the emphasis on individual freedom and on the "sovereignty of peoples", etc. are measures of the artiguismo, fully coherent with what has been described by Jonathan Israel as the "radical Enlightenment". However, Artigas has received little attention in the literature on radical thinking. In view of this, the following text proposes a double aim: on the one hand, to serve as introduction to the Revolución Oriental impelled by Artigas as well as its cultural and intellectual origins and, on the other hand, to make this punctual episode interact with contemporary debates concerning the Enlightenment philosophy and, in particular, its radical form. We will conclude that, just as we affirm Artigas' filiation to the Enlightenment, his Revolution seems to embody another form of radicalism, which has its own characteristics derived from the rioplatense context.

Interview in German on the relations of terrorism, counter-culture, aesthetics and violent avantgarde in the context of the aftermath to the Paris Attacks on Friday Nov 13th. Further remarks on the solidarity symbols in Social Media Web and collective memory of terrorism.

▨ Abstract: This paper considers the influence of Enlightenment thinking on the pedagogical works of Jan Valerián Jirsík (1798–1883), who earned a place in Czech history as a priest, theologian, active patriot, education campaigner, pedagogue, writer and not least as the fourth Bishop of České Budějovice (Budweis), an office he held from 1851 until his death. Primarily, it draws on and follows up ideas in the writings of the theologian Ctirad Václav Pospíšil and the church historian Kamila Veverková, who both trace the links between Jirsík the theologist and thinkers associated with Bernard Bolzano. Jirsík's early writings, however, are as much concerned with pedagogy as they are with theology, and the aim of this study is to discover whether his ideas on education were similarly influenced by Enlightenment thinking. It analyses his views on the subject before 1851, i.e. until he became Bishop of Budweis – specifically in the period 1826–1843, when he was much occupied with questions of education and upbringing. In his years as bishop he devoted little time to literary pursuits. The study concludes that the legacy of the Enlightenment era most certainly played an important part in Jirsík's deliberations on education. There is, however, a certain progression discernible in his thinking. In the early period, of which Sunday School (1826) is a representative text, we see the influence of contemporary Enlightenment clerical pedagogy as he advocates extending human knowledge through reason in order to improve living conditions. Faith and religion are also factors here, especially in his emphasis on the positive role of God the Creator. In the second period under consideration (1836–43), we find closer parallels between Jirsík's pedagogical and theological thinking. Within ten years of writing Sunday School, his position had shied from that of a priest attempting to expand or improve education in the spirit of Enlightenment ecclesiastical pedagogy to that of a theologian (and so-called 'true' enlightener) who from theological considerations drew conclusions for the educational process. In Jirsík's view, Christianity and Enlightenment go hand in hand, serving to elevate human life spiritually as well as materially. For him education means the enlightenment of both soul and reason. Nor does he see any contradiction between faith and rationality. It is evident from his thinking that he was convinced of the need to implement the pedagogical ideal of the Enlightenment: to educate virtuous citizens who were also rational.

Realizamos un recorrido por los principales aclares y obras que se preocuparan por la renovación de las métodos y sistemas educativos con vistas a introducir mejoras en el aprendizaje de las primeras letras -lectura y escritura- en España. Son sodas ellos las que van a preparar el debate y la eclosión de títulos sobre esta materia a los que asistimos en los años finales del XVIII y principios del XIX. Del conocimiento de las precedentes adquirimos elementos que sirven para explicar y encuadrar las propuestas finiseculares. Sin quienes vertebran estas páginas el ideal ilustrado de la educación en se vertiente popular no bebiera dejado de ser una entelequia, pues su concurso fue crucial para que, al menos en el plano teórico, lodo lo concerniente a las escuelas sufriera una renovación pedagógica.

La Revolución Oriental, qui a eu lieu entre 1811 et 1820 au Río de la Plata propulsée par le caudillo uruguayen José Artigas, a puisé dans les oeuvres de Jean-Jacques Rousseau et de Thomas Paine, une véritable volonté égalitariste et libertaire, qui a consacré une grande attention à l'éducation du peuple.