This paper tries to provide an interpretation of the concept of culture in the work of one of German Enlightenment's most versatile personalities: Johann Gottfried Herder. The emphasis will be placed on this concept within the framework of a new interpretation of the historicity and essence of language as a medium of knowledge, understanding and communication, leading towards an examination of Herder's contribution to the philosophy of language and processuality as the basis of a project of an universal, but immanently historical anthropology. Furthermore, we will introduce Herder's integration of the enlightened rationality and classical metaphysics as expressed in his aesthetics and poetry. We also will reconstruct the foundations and future influence of Herder's linking of universalist humanism with the new awareness of the national and social determination of being. Namely, being as something actively and freely appropriated in an integrated manner that is however not arbitrary. Key words: Herder, Enlightenment, culture, philosophy of language

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Goethe' s Phenomenology - Abstract The aim of this thesis was to explain the philosophical foundations and horizons of the work of Johann Wolfgang Goethe, with an emphasis on his concept of phenomenon and appearing, in which he is presented as a significant contributor to the reflection of the category of mediation in German late Enlightenment and idealistic discourse. The work showed how Goethe's (including poetic) works show some theoretically based or systematizable aspects which genealogy, reception and applicability in general the author attempts to interpret. He also interprets the philosophemes connected with Goethe's work: he puts Goethe in the contexts of the German and European thinking of the age of the Enlightenment, of its rationalist bases and of its rethinking of the nineteenth- century concepts of thought. The work shows the breadth and complexity of Goethe's spiritual resources and their creative appropriation by him, as well as the far-reaching influence of Goethe on the German philosophy already in his time (Hegel, Schelling, Schopenhauer, etc.). He tries to overcome the stereotypes or shortcomings he finds in several previous interpretations, discussing first the philosophical literature about Goethe. In systematic and historical contexts, he represents Goethe confrontations with the...

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The goal of this thesis is to elaborate the place of J.G. Herder’s concept of poetry within his philosophy. Through a discussion of his study of the Old Testament, On the Spirit of Hebrew Poetry, I examine the relationship between J.G. Herder’s poetics and his naturalism. Herder’s hermeneutic, developed in the context of his literary criticism, is at the heart of his philosophy. I interpret Herder’s views on poetry as an integral part of his criticism of 17th century rationalism, and one that he develops in union with the conclusions he draws from philosophy and the natural sciences.

The divide between Reason, otherwise known as "philosophy," and Revelation, otherwise known orthodoxy or religion, is hardly a new phenomenon. However, the beginning of the Enlightenment saw a new kind of warfare between the two. Oddly enough, almost as soon as the fighting began, the battlefield was abandoned without a victor being declared. Key questions pertaining to the battle between orthodoxy and the Enlightenment were taken for granted over time, until a victor was assumed without a conclusive defeat taking place. Humanity fell into a cave—unaware of the fundamental question—deeper and darker than its original state. This paper will explore the views of Leo Strauss concerning the causes, ramifications, and possible solution to the war between Enlightenment and Revelation.

The purpose of this essay is to distinguish different perceptions about reason in lutheran Sweden during the 18th century enlightenment. By analyzing the discourse in the newly established scientific academy in Stockholm, I examine how the scientist valued reason and its relation to faith and science. Further I examine during which sociopolitical and theological contexts these perceptions formed and if the discourse can be explained by Lutheranism and a religious enlightenment. The study found a generally positive attitude towards reason as it was perceived as a gift from God and an important trait inherent only to humans. Reason had its limits however but these were not expressed as negatively as Luther warned during the 16th century. While Luther expressed great skepticism towards reason, especially in the realm of theology, the scientist had a more positive attitude. With previous research, this study finds that this shift in attitude, together with utilism, could be contributed to a religious enlightenment, in which a more orthodox church embrace enlightenment ideals – such as reason – to defend their faith and find a more solid ground during pressed times when criticism against religion grew and Pietism took hold.

En Europe au XVIIIe siècle, le roman épistolaire connaissait un grand succès. En France aussi, un grand nombre d'auteurs s'appuyait alors sur ce genre littéraire pour transmettre des idées philosophiques et souvent critiques envers la société de l'époque, à travers des lettres prétendument véritables, à un lectorat croissant.À l'époque, parmi les écrivains dont les œuvres étaient très appréciées par les lecteurs, un nombre non négligeable était composé de femmes. Parmi elles se trouvent par exemple Françoise de Graffigny avec les Lettres d'une Péruvienne ou bien Marie-Jeanne Riccoboni avec plusieurs romans épistolaires comme les Lettres de Fanny Butler.À partir du XIXe siècle, ces auteurs ont souvent été effacées de la mémoire culturelle et ont, pendant longtemps, été délaissées par la recherche littéraire. Parmi elles se trouve Marie Leprince de Beaumont, gouvernante catholique, qui était jusqu'au XIXe siècle surtout connue pour ses ouvrages sur l'éducation des enfants, des jeunes filles et des pauvres. Elle a pourtant publié une œuvre d'une variété étonnante : on y trouve des contes pour enfants, le Nouveau Magasin français, un des premiers journaux mensuels en français à avoir été dirigé par une femme, ainsi que plusieurs romans épistolaires.L'œuvre de cette femme auteur qui, quoique catholique et croyante, essaie de transmettre dans ses livres des perspectives sur les possibilités pour les femmes de mener une vie vertueuse et honnête dans une société imprégnée par la prédominance des hommes, ne fait l’objet de recherches littéraires approfondies que depuis peu de temps.Cette thèse vise à analyser et interpréter la tension entre un christianisme profond et le désir d'améliorer l'accès au savoir pour les femmes dans les romans de Maire Leprince de Beaumont, qui « [...] avait une prédilection affichée pour le genre épistolaire [...] » . Il s'agit d'abord de les placer dans leur contexte littéraire et historique et de situer ensuite l'idée de « l'éducation narrée » au centre des recherches : comment Leprince de Beaumont se sert-elle du genre épistolaire pour communiquer des idées philosophiques ainsi que des modèles de comportement au lecteur ?La thèse veut démontrer qu'au XVIIIe siècle, il était tout à fait possible de concilier le christianisme avec le souhait de faire progresser la société de l'époque en facilitant l'accès au savoir pour les femmes ; qu'être croyant ne voulait pas forcément dire repousser les idées novatrices et que Marie Leprince de Beaumont et son œuvre épistolaire méritent une place honorable parmi les auteurs des Lumières / In 18th century Europe, the epistolary novel was very popular. In France, a great number of authors used this literary genre to spread, across supposedly real letters, the philosophical, and often critical ideas on society (of the time) between a growing readership.At that time, a significant number of authors, whose works were very appreciated by the public, were (was?) female. Among them were for example Françoise de Graffigny with the Peruvian Letters or Marie-Jeanne Riccoboni with serveral epistolary novels like Fanny Butler’s Letters or Julie Catesby’s Letters.From the 19th century, these authors often disappeared from the cultural memory and have been neglected by literary research for a long time. Amongst them we can find Marie Leprince de Beaumont, a catholic governess, who was, in the 19th century primarily known for her educational works for children, young girls and poor people. However, she has published a surprisingly divers œuvre : it consists of fairy tales for children, the Nouveau Magasin français, one of the first monthly journals edited by a woman, a considerable correspondence and several epistolary novels.The work of this female author who, even though she was catholic and believing, tried to pass on in her books new perspectives on the possibilities women had to live a vertous and simple life in a society that was shaped by male predominance, is only recently in the center of enhanced literary research. This thesis wants to analyse an interpret this tension between a profound christianism and the desire to improve womens acces to knowledge and education in the fictions of Marie Leprince de Beaumont who « had a predilection for the epistolary genre ». We will first range the works in their literary and historical context and place then the idea of „narrated education“ in the center of our research: how does Marie Leprince de Beaumont employ the epistolary genre to communicate philosophical ideas and behavioral patterns to her readers ?This thesis wants to show that in the 18th century it was possible to reconcile christianism with the desire to help developping the society by facilitating women’s acces to education ; that believing in God didn’t obligatorily mean that one rejected new ideas and that Marie Leprince de Beaumont and her epistolary fictions deserve their place among the authors of the Enlightenment

The impact of Enlightenment rhetoric on Revolutionary conceptions of gender has been a topic of historiographical debate. This thesis examines how Scottish Enlightenment stadial views of progress influenced early American female education discourse. Within this framework, upper middle-class white women transitioned from “slaves” to reasonable companions through the performance of feminine domesticity. Women who conformed to the prescriptions of Scottish moralists represented Anglo-American ideals of civility and refinement which served as a justification for the enslavement and dispossession of African and Indigenous peoples. Examining opinion pieces, advertisements for schools, academy addresses, and runaway slave advertisements reveals how early Americans participated in the simultaneous construction of race and gender. Beginning in the colonial era, editorialists deployed rhetoric from James Fordyce’s Sermons to Young Women (1766) to argue that upper-class white women were capable of reason and thus deserving of educational opportunities. Pre-revolutionary rationales persisted into the post-revolutionary era. This suggests that increased educational opportunities were not contingent on the Revolution. In the 1780s, editorialists deployed lines of reasoning from John Greogory’s A Father’s Legacy to his Daughters (1774), to broaden the construct of reasonable companionship. They argued that upper middle-class white women influenced men’s manners and made society more virtuous. This conception gave women an informal public role as moral arbiters. In the 1790s, women’s rights rhetoric challenged but did not refute the ideological construct of reasonable companionship. Taking a critical race approach to studying Revolutionary women’s access to educational opportunities reveals how dominant discourses upheld the racial hierarchy. / Graduate / 2023-08-24