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A paper which considers the perspective of Voltaire, Kant and Condorcet on organised religion, and the extent to which the Enlightenment thinkers had a direct impact on social change. Bibliography lists 6 sources.
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4 pages (~225 words per page)
File: JL5_JLenlgrelig.rtf
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of organised religion which, as they perceived it, stifled independent thought and fostered elitism within society. Bowman (2001) comments that Kant regarded morality as "something which we impose on ourselves,
not a way of life which we follow because some divine beings commands . . it" (Bowman, 2001). In "What is Enlightenment?" Kant specifically states that the central tenet of
Enlightenment is Sapere aude, or dare to know - in other words, the individual should rely on their own understanding rather than the dogma imposed by others.
Voltaire, in the "Treatise on Toleration", contends that religion is preferable to atheism, although he distinguishes between religion and superstition: "Such is the feebleness of humanity, such
is its perversity, that doubtless it is better for it to be subject to all possible superstitions, as long as they are not murderous, than to live without religion .
. wherever there is a settled society, religion is necessary" (Voltaire, 1763). Harman (2004) points out that despite Voltaires own scathing attacks on religion, he was "very upset when dHolbach
published (under a pseudonym) a thoroughly atheistic work, The System of Nature" (Harman, 2004). Condorcet lashed out not against theism or individual spiritual
belief, but at the "priests and their stupid or hypocritical instruments . . we shall think of them only to pity their victims and their dupes" (Condorcet, 1794). It must
be born in mind that in medieval Europe, the Church was the main driving force behind all aspects of socio-cultural structures, and it would also be fair to say that
almost the entire canon of philosophical debate was firmly rooted in Christian principles and Christian ideology, to the extent that even empirical scientific knowledge was forced to conform to religious
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