Rousseau
18th c. France: Drifting towards a New Sensibility Social System in the 18 th C. France Start of the Enlightenment - importance given to reason Shift to Romanticism – significance of emotion/ passion These movements are not limited to France, but impacted the rest of Europe. Ideas of John Locke (empiricism) and Isaac Newton (natural laws) Montesquieu – eulogising reason Diderot – reconciling reason with emotion Hume – acceptance of the dominance of passion Voltaire This shift of importance from reason to passion marks the drift. Two philosophes identified with this: Rousseau Kant This shift did not weaken the revolutionary process. French Revolution was an outcome. Situations in France inspired English Romantic poets. Thus, we have two ideological revolutions behind the upheaval in France: Enlightenment and Romanticism Romanticism gathered strength and inspired a whole generation of people in the succeeding century. ...