The French Enlightenment: Les Lumières

We live in an enlightened world. We owe a lot to the men and women of the XVIIIth century and what they gave us. During this period, all over Europe, but especially in France, sciences, politics, literature, art, philosophy and many other aspect of society were being dissected, studied and written on.

You know their names: Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot, Montesquieu, du Châtelet, Lavoisier, de Gouges and others. They are the ones who laid the foundation for the very States we live in, at least in the democratic parts of the world. Modern governments and societies derive directly from the work of these people that we consider part of the Lumières era.

Let me give you an idea of how they managed to do that, why they did it, as well as the dramatic consequences that ensued.

Timecodes:

Introduction
05:45 - Turning the lights on
09:32 - Various aspects of the Enlightenment
14:25 - The Encyclopédie and the sciences
23:52 - Laws, societies and the consequences of the Enlightenment
30:14 - Conclusion

Music: Marche pour la cérémonie des Turcs, composed by Jean-Baptiste Lully, arranged and performed by Jérôme Arfouche.

Painting: Première lecture chez Mme Geoffrin de la tragédie de Voltaire "L'Orphelin de la Chine" , 1755. By Anicet Charles Lemonnier

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