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【正文】 aced the concept that favored man’s capability of infinite perfectibility and that the good or evil human traits result from environmental conditioning rather than from the sins of Adam and Eve. American literature lectures, part Ⅱ~mseifert/ It was the Enlightenment, not the Renaissance or the Reformation that dislodged the ecclesiastical establishment from central control of cultural and intellectual life. By emancipating science from the trammels of theological tradition the Enlightenment rendered possible the autonomous evolution of modern culture.While all of the philosophes opposed despotism, denied clericalism and advocated democracy, they had their individual thought which differed themselves from others. For instance, Voltaire’s chief adversary was JeanJacques Rousseau. Whereas Voltaire argued that equality was impossible and called for a transitional period in the middle of despotism and constitutional monarchy, Rousseau argued that inequality was not only unnatural, but it made decent government impossible. Whereas Voltaire insisted on the supremacy of the intellect, Rousseau emphasized the emotions, being a contributor to both the Enlightenment and its successor, romanticism. Another renowned philosophe was the Marquis de Montesquieu, a judicial official as well as a nobleman. Born in Bordeaux, France, in 1689 to a wealthy family, he went to college and studied science and history, eventually being a lawyer in the local government. Montesquieu won his fame by publishing the Persian Letter, but it was the Spirit of Law (1748) that made him famous. On the base of Locke’s division of state powers theory, he explicitly brought forward the principle of separation of powers. Montesquieu believed that all things were made up of rules and laws that never changed. He set to study these laws scientifically with the hope that knowledge of the laws of government would reduce the problems of society and improve human life. In the Spirit of Law, Montesquieu described three types of government: a monarchy (ruled by a king or queen), a republic (ruled by an elected leader), and despotism (ruled by a dictator). Montesquieu believed that a government that was elected by the people was the best form of government. He did, however, believed that the success of a democracy – a government in which the people have the power—depended upon maintaining the right balance of power. Montesquieu argued that the best government would be one in which power was balanced among three groups of officials. He called the idea of dividing government power into three branches the “separation of powers”. He thought it most important to create separate branches of government with equal but different powers. That way, the government would avoid placing too much power with one individual or group of individuals. According to Montesquieu, each branch of government could limit the power of the other two branches. Therefore, no branch of the government could threaten the freedom of the people. His ideas about separation of powers became the basis for the United States Constitution. 2 The Enlightenment in America The Founding Fathers and the American RevolutionIn 1756, when the Enlightenment was passionately advancing its course in the European continent, England and France began to fight the Seven Years’ War in its colony, known in America as the French and Indian War. The English government invested soldiers and money in North America and won a great empire. Britain’s victory led directly to a conflict with its American colonies. The King of England George Ⅲ tried to tighten his control. He wanted the colonies to pay for the war through higher taxes. Later the British passed several laws which angered the colonist. Finally in 1765 the Stamp Act was passed and the colonists began to speak out against the new taxes. But the colonial Americans insisted that they could be taxed only by their own colonial assemblies. “No taxation without representation” was their rallying cry. The Society and Culture of Major Englishspeaking Countries: An Introduction, , P12At the same time, the reforming rationalism of Enlightenment spread over Europe and reached the New World. The most dis
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