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The Enlightenment Era, which lasted from 1685 to 1815, was a time of significant intellectual and philosophical development. Influential figures such as Galileo, Isaac Newton, Thomas Jefferson, and John Locke played crucial roles during this period. The Enlightenment was heavily influenced by ancient Greece, the Renaissance, the scientific revolution, and the Protestant Reformation. It had a profound impact on the American Revolution, religious beliefs, and government systems. The Enlightenment promoted reasoning, questioning, and the separation of church and state. It also shaped the formation of democratic governments and the concept of natural rights. The Enlightenment, also known as the Age of Reason, had a global influence that transformed societies worldwide. Hello, welcome to the Enlightenment. I am your host, AJ, along with my friend Michael. Hello, today we'll be talking about the Enlightenment Era. We will be joined by some special guests, Charlie and TJ. First, I'll give you a little bit of info about the Enlightenment Era. The Enlightenment started around 1685 and ended in 1815. Many people helped to contribute to the literature of the Enlightenment. Yes, one of the first was the renowned scientist Galileo. He published the Scenarius Nuncus, which focused on the discoveries found for the newly invented telescope. About 70 years later, Sir Isaac Newton published his first book titled Principia Mathematica. The Principia Mathematica helped to lay down the groundwork for a lot of modern day mechanics. Another important author also happened to be the third president of the United States. His name was Thomas Jefferson. While he did many important things with his life, the most important was probably when he drafted the Declaration of Independence. He and some other men grouped together to declare independence from slavery. This was huge. His writings led to the Revolutionary War, American Freedom, and made the United States one of the most powerful countries in the world. Thomas Jefferson was a big leader. Another big man of the Enlightenment was John Locke. He published the Treaties of Government in 1687. John Locke was known for his fierce political ideals and accomplishments. He created the political idea of the right to life, liberty, and property. The treaties helped to expand on his philosophies and ideals linked to these three points. Another American genius was Alexander Hanson. He was an immigrant from the Caribbean who arrived in the United States in 1772. He went to college and then served in the Revolutionary War. Hanson was in charge of writing George Washington's journal, which eventually got him a spot in the U.S. government. Hamilton ended up writing the Federalist Papers, which led to the Declaration of Independence. In short, he was very important. Today, we will be hosting Professor P.J. Leto, majoring in English literature and author of several New York best-selling books. His most recent accomplishment is his Nobel Peace Prize in Literature. And Dr. Charles Bader, a former valedictorian of Oxford College. He has dedicated his life to studying the artistic movement of the Enlightened. He has his own TV show and has given over 20 TED Talks. We will be back with our first guest after a quick message from our sponsor, Flex Tape. Hi, Bill Swift here for Flex Tape. Flex Tape is super-strong waterproof tape that can instantly patch, bond, seal, and repair. Flex Tape's cripple-thick adhesive welts itself to the surface, stopping the toughest leaks. And new Flex Tape Clear creates a super-strong watertight seal. Flex Tape Clear is virtually invisible, perfect for all types of repairs. Flex Tape is super-strong. And once it's on, it holds on tight. And Flex Tape Great can patch large cracks and holes. To show you the power of Flex Tape, I sawed this boat in half and repaired it with Flex Tape. Not only does Flex Tape hold the boat together, but the inside is completely dry. Welcome back to the Enlightenment Podcast. Our first guest today will be Professor PJ Leito. Welcome, PJ. Good to have you here today. We are excited to talk about the Enlightenment. Thank you. It's good to be here. Yes, me too. Tell me a little bit about yourself and what you do, Professor. I graduated from the University of Texas and majored in literature. I also research about the influence of the Enlightenment and what the Enlightenment influenced. Very interesting. Tell me, what influenced the Enlightenment? Yes, so the major influences of the Enlightenment were the ideas from the ancient world, and also the Renaissance, scientific revolution, and the Protestant Reformation. These ideas were big ideas that influenced this time period. Yes, I read one of your books about ancient Greece and how it had a big influence on the Enlightenment. How did that work, and what parts of Greece were included in the Enlightenment? The Enlightenment's values are influenced in many different parts in history. The ancient world helped influence the big ideas of reasoning and questioning ideas. Aristotle and his method of gaining truth was also a big influence to the people who helped move the ideas of the Enlightenment forward. That makes sense. It seems like both ancient Greece and the Enlightenment were full of radical thinkers searching for the truth. I could see how they would be connected. I agree, especially the part about Aristotle. He clearly was a smart guy, and it's easy to see his influence all over the Enlightenment's writers and thinkers. Definitely. What I don't understand, though, is how the Protestant Reformation affected the Enlightenment. I can't seem to connect the dots. Could you help me out? Yeah, so the Protestant Reformation is an influential part to the Enlightenment is how it changed the views on religion during this time. Before the Enlightenment, church and state went hand in hand, but after the Protestant Reformation, these ideas of reasoning, religion, and questioning ideas of religion gained momentum. Because of this, the Enlightenment focused on the ideas of questioning religion and also the separation of church and state. Oh, I get it now. I remember hearing about this back when I was in school. Separation of church and state seemed to play a big part in the writing of the Constitution especially. Yes, I noticed that in my research as well. Speaking of research, didn't you say that while the Enlightenment was influenced by a lot, it also affected other events and movements? Indeed. The Enlightenment was a very impactful period in American history. It was influential to the American Revolution as well as religion in the colonies and also government and politics. That's an awful lot of impact. How exactly did the Enlightenment affect the American Revolution? The American Revolution was able to happen by the Enlightenment's values. The Enlightenment focused on the ideas of reasoning church and state. Because of this, the people in the colonies reasoned about the monarchy control over the colonies and decided to rise up together. The Enlightenment thinkers like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson helped influence the ideas of freedom. Their Enlightenment outlooks on how freedom is a natural right to humanity. They fought against the conservative ideas of the English monarchy. All of the Enlightenment ideas helped the American Revolution gain momentum. Now that you say that, it's incredibly easy to see how the Enlightenment's values directly affected the revolution. The idea of religious freedom especially seems to be carried over. I think I remember that many colonists wanted to be independent from Great Britain simply because they didn't agree with the Church of England. Yeah, I remember that too. I also remember learning that John Locke was a writer who talked about natural rights of humanity and his writings were included in the Constitution of the United States. If that's not an example of what I meant affecting the American Revolution, I don't know what is. Both of those are exactly right. They're both perfect examples of the Enlightenment's influence. That's good to know. I'm glad I finally understand it more. Seems like the Enlightenment thoughts, values, and principles really did affect not only the American Revolution but the religion and government in the colonies as well. Yes, they did. The Enlightenment influence on the U.S. government is very important to how our country works today. The Enlightenment helped form the ideas that government works as a contract between people and the state. The Enlightenment also helped form how our government functions as a democracy rather than a monarchy that controlled the U.S. previously in the colonies. Other countries including France also followed similarly after the French Revolution. That's interesting. I wasn't expecting to learn that the Enlightenment affected more countries than just the United States. It actually affected more than just the U.S. and France. It affected the whole world. Oh wow. Sounds pretty important. It definitely was. The world is a very different place because of it. It sounds like it. Now this is kind of off topic, but AJ and I were researching the Enlightenment just a bit before you came and we have a question to ask you. Is it true that an alternate name for the Enlightenment was the Age of Reason? Yes, this is correct. The Age of Reason is also commonly used as well as another name for the Enlightenment era. That makes sense, especially hearing about all the philosophers and writers of this time. Between John Locke, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, the Age of Reasoning seemed like a pretty fitting name. Yes, it was. Another reason for the name has to do with the ideas of reasoning and questioning that were very popular during the Enlightenment. What all did they question to make the Enlightenment so influential? The main ideas include religion and politics. Tell me more about that. How did they question and reason with religion? With religion, we see that in the U.S. the Enlightenment helped form the separation from church and state in the U.S. This idea is still heavily prevalent in the U.S. and many other countries today. Religion also changed in the Enlightenment which was caused by the idea of reasoning. Many laws in the U.S. were influenced by religion or religious values. Because of this, when reasoning gained momentum in the U.S., the idea of reasoning religion also occurred. Because of this, now many laws were changed in the Enlightenment to not be so influenced by religion and more state ideas. Yeah, it's pretty easy to see that now in today's society. So many of today's laws are without consideration of what different faiths would say about certain topics. How has the separation of church and state influenced today's society? The separation of church and state has affected today's society in many different ways. I think that one of the big ones is how society is able to have diverse beliefs. Before the Enlightenment, the idea spread. Many people were first forced to be involved in these religions. After the Enlightenment, these people were able to profess their favorite religion rather than being forced to worship and be involved in a different faith. Because of this, we now in the U.S. and much of the Western world have much more religious diversity among communities. Incredible. Now that I really think about it, it's very easy to see how the Enlightenment teachings about religion are affecting today's society, especially in independent religion. It really goes to show how many things we think of today as normal that were once not and had to be created. It truly seems like we owe a lot of today's society to the Enlightenment. It was very influential, clearly. The countless topics that we owe to the Enlightenment is actually crazy. It makes you see the value in this era and how much it really did affect society and how we function today. Yes, indeed it was. The Enlightenment influenced many topics such as religion, politics, and many more. The Enlightenment also greatly affected American literature. These ideas on reasoning and value of the Enlightenment affected how authors wrote and what topics they wrote about. They wrote on the values of the Enlightenment, focusing on American literature, one of the big topics that was influenced highly by this era. With big works like the Declaration of Independence, the Enlightenment was such a monumental era in American history. Also, make sure to read all about it at theenlightenment.com article. Thank you, PJ. That was amazing. I loved learning about all the things the Enlightenment had a role in influencing. To our listeners, please make sure to check out our articles over the influence of the Enlightenment that PJ wrote for us. Yes. Thank you, PJ, for your time. We hope to have you back another time to hear more from you. Yes, of course. Anytime. It was an honor. Soon, we'll be back with our next guest. He's an Oxford graduate. But before we introduce our next guest, let's hear a word from our favorite sponsor, Burger King. Whopper, Whopper, Whopper, Whopper, Junior, Double, Triple, Whopper. Same grill taste with perfect toppers. I'm the best. Let it fail, it will catch up, it's okay. If I don't want that impossible, go-off-baking Whopper, any Whopper my way. You, you, you think it's a day, happy day. Happy your way, you're wrong. Welcome back. Dr. Bader, tell us a bit about yourself. As you know, I graduated from Oxford University, and I majored in American literature. It's my job to know anything and everything about the Enlightenment, and that's why I was brought here today. I'm currently studying in-depth the history and artistic movements. The Enlightenment helped structure our society today, as we were influenced greatly from it. We took their ideas and others from our history to create a greater, more efficient civilization. Can you give us some info on the history? Gladly. The Enlightenment as a whole was a period of advancements and new thinking and ideas. It started around the late 1600s and lasted until the early 1800s. There were mainly important figures and inspirations and people who inspired them before also. Wow, what an interesting topic. Who would you say was one of the most important people of the Enlightenment? I think it was probably Roger Williams. Really? I haven't heard of him. He was a very underrated figure of the Enlightenment. He was a very religious man who devoted his life to the followings and teachings of Jesus. His most important contribution to the Enlightenment was his belief in the separation of church and state. He thought the roles and values were different, and the church's tradition needed to be preserved. He believed all religions, including Christians, Muslims, Indian faiths, and others should have the right to abide outside the state laws. Wow, that's some interesting stuff, Charles. I was wondering why you find this topic so interesting. I found the Enlightenment interesting because I always wondered how much today's society can be. Many political philosophers came from the Enlightenment. Voltaire, a famous Enlightenment figure, developed the idea of separating church and state. That means that politics and religion would be divided and no religion would mix with politics. Interesting. What would you say is your favorite part to research about? I actually really enjoy researching the scientific advancements. Really? Why is that? One of the greatest inventions, the steam engine, came straight from the Enlightenment. Thomas Newcomen was one of the leading inventors of the creation of the steam engine. He developed a piston used to separate steam and water within the steam engine. This invention would help modernize the steam engine to create a more efficient way of using steam power. Wow, that is pretty cool. Steam power is still a big part of today's society. Is there any other big invention from the Enlightenment? Another big invention was the battery. The first battery was made by an Italian scientist, Alessandro Volta. Batteries are still a very common item that comes straight from the Enlightenment. The original battery ran off of disks containing silver and zinc, each separated by cloth soaked in brine or sodium hydroxide. The battery still wasn't a very safe form of energy, but it would be later. Very interesting. I enjoy thinking about where so many modern items have come from. Have you studied the artistic movement of the Enlightenment? Yes, I have. There were various styles used in the Age of Reason. A.M.W. Turner, Caspar David Frederick, and many other artists used Romanticism and Neoclassicism. Neoclassicism was the most important style and was based off of Rococo style, created by Jacque-Louis Davis. Neoclassicism used lots of paintings of war and violent images, but also had more calming ones also. Very interesting. What else influenced the artistic movement? Lots of techniques were passed to students from their masters before, but each of their styles were unique. They did have issues, however, because some of them thought the paintings were inappropriate for the public. They didn't agree with this because they thought it was against the truth and they shouldn't lie. Wow. Were a lot of people against nonviolence at the time? Yes. It was happening during the American Revolution, so many people wanted to stop the war. Yes, the American Revolution must have had a very large impact. Indeed. Many ideas and works of literature were based on politics and war. Many people think of politics when they hear about the Enlightenment. What were some of the big political ideas from the Enlightenment? Yes, like I said earlier, Voltaire was a very big political thinker. He was responsible for separation of church and state. Another big thinker was Montesquieu. He was responsible for checks and balances. The idea was having three distinct branches of government. Like the United States? Precisely. He created the judicial branch, who was in charge of enforcing laws. The executive branch is where the president is from and who helps enforce and veto laws. The last branch is the legislative branch, which has two parts. The House and the Senate can make and decide to send the laws to the executive branch. Through Montesquieu's checks and balances, no certain area can take over because they are all equal. That's a very smart way of doing government. Agreed. America was one of the first to adopt this way of government and is today used in a majority of countries. What other ideas can we find today in America? Well, they tried to carefully examine the creation to perfect human society as much as possible. We can see this today as we have advanced pretty much every aspect since the Enlightenment. Very true. We have a much better structured society today, especially in America. We have learned from our mistakes and we continue their idea of throwing bad methods away and only using the good ones. What other significance does the Enlightenment serve? The Enlightenment helped to transfer into the 19th century and start more modern technological advances. Their scientific accomplishments are still used today in modern society. One of the big medical advancements is the vaccine. The first vaccine was created to prevent smallpox disease. Edward Jenner invented the first ever vaccine in 1796 to protect humans against smallpox. Vaccines are used all over the world today and have saved countless lives. Interesting. I wouldn't have thought that vaccines were made that long ago. Yeah, that is interesting. Well, thank you for joining us, Dr. Bader. It's truly been a joy. Agreed. Thank you so much for your time, Doctor. Thank you for having me. I'm glad I was able to share my knowledge with you and tell about the world about this Enlightenment time period. When we return from a quick commercial from our sponsor, the Clash of Clans, we'll be saying goodbye to our special guests. Oh, no, no, no! You have missed the Clash of Clans. Download for free. Welcome back to the closing minutes of the Enlightenment. We just want to thank our guests one more time for coming on our podcast. Professor Leto and Dr. Bader, it's been a pleasure. Thank you once again for having me on the podcast. Hope to come back again. Thank you. Sounds like it. We look forward to hearing from you both soon. Thank you all for tuning into this week's episode of the Enlightenment. I hope you all got something good out of this episode. Next week we'll be talking about the Revolutionary War. Make sure to take a listen. It should be good. We'll be having more incredible, distinguished guests next week. Don't forget to smash that like and subscribe. Like we always say, you learn something new every day, but you learn a whole lot when you tune into the Enlightenment podcast. See you next time on the Enlightenment.