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The Limits of the Enlightenment

In many ways, the Age of the Enlightenment was a progressive period: new political ideas and beliefs were advanced, religious toleration was defended and tyrannical regimes were criticized. But the Enlightenment also had its limits which are to be found in 18th century theories of race and of the role of women.

Theories of Race

Enlightenment thinkers were interested in finding the origins of mankind to better understand human nature. Moving away from biblical stories of creation and a monogenetic account of human origin, which posited that the entire human race descended from Adam and Eve, 18th century natural scientists began forming natural theories that saw human as part of the natural order. This departure from religious accounts started with Carolus Linnaeus’s Systema Naturae. In this groundbreaking book, the Swedish botanist developed the first polygenetic account of human origin, as he classified different races of human beings into four ‘varieties’ based on their physiology and geographical location: americanus, europaeus, asiaticus and afer. (Slotkin 1944, 461). This theory had a certain appeal because it was not religious but based on reason and scientific inquiry.

However, this categorization led to theories of races. Linnaeus stereotypically described the Europeaus as white, serious, strong, very smart, inventive and “ruled by laws”. On the other hand, Afer was black, impassive, lazy, foolish and “ruled by caprice.” (Slotkin 1944, 461-62). This classification was then popularized by Johan Friedrich Blumenbach, who further supported this stereotypical description by insisting that skull shape and size should be used as the primary means of differentiating between human groups. These racial classifications were utilized to defend slavery: Africans, as an inferior race could and should be enslaved.

In the midst of these racial theories that justified slavery, certain philosophers publicly condemned the African slave trade. For instance, the Society for the abolition of the Slave trade was established in 1787 in England, and led by philosophers such as Joseph Priestley, Richard, Price, Mary Wollstonecraft… In France, the Societe des amis des noirs (the Society of the Friends of the Blacks) was created in 1788 and led by Marquis de Condorcet among others.

Women and Citizenship

Despite their commitments to egalitarian principles, many Enlightenment thinkers promoted a social and political system that relegated women to the domestic sphere. Like African people, women were considered to be intellectually inferior, and were excluded from the political sphere on the basis that they lacked proper reason, strength, and were ruled by their emotions. As Boucher d’Argis’ writes in his article from the Encyclopedia Woman (Jurisprudence), “either because of the fragility and delicate disposition of their sex [women] are excluded from several roles, and are incapable of certain commitments”. (d’Argis, Boucher. “Woman (Jurisprudence).” Encyclopédie, ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des métiers et des arts). Rousseau in his work Emile describes women as “weak and passive” (Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, Emile, as quoted in Kramnick, Isaac. The Portable Enlightenment Reader. New York: Penguin, 1995).

These traditional prejudices held against women, and especially their perceived natural lack of reason, justified their exclusion from certain citizenship rights, such as voting and participating in politics. While this view was popular during the Enlightenment age (the different articles from this Encyclopedia on women all attribute them such prejudices), several voices rose to challenge this position, from both men and women. The Marquis de Condorcet, for instance, was one of the main advocates of woman’s rights during the French Revolution. He argued that the exclusion of women from voting challenged the egalitarian principles of the Declaration of the Rights of Men and of the Citizen. Some women also actively defended their civic rights, such as Mary Wollstonecraft and Olympe de Gouges (who challenged the practice of male authority and of male-female inequalities).Stoute95 (talk) 17:40, 4 December 2014 (UTC)