Napolean essays

Napolean essays In the eighteenth century, there was considerable diversity and disagreement among those known as philosophers, in particular such individuals as Voltiare, Montesquieu, Rousseau, and the Encyclopedists, especially Diderot, and those who stood in the enlightened tradition of the period, such as Hume, Lessing, Kant, and the economic theorists such as the physiocrats and Adam Smith. What they shared, however, was a critical attitude toward traditional religion and an agreement about the unenlightened character of the ancient regimes of Europe, with the corresponding need for reform of the state so that it could become an agency for progress. Finally, they had a profound confidence in natural law as something that could be understood and applied through science and reason, (Allen, 132-134; Doyle 49-55). One particular aspect of the Enlightenment was that of enlightened despotism. Among the many examples of enlightened rulers of Europe, the best include Joseph II of Austria, Frederick II of Prussia, and Catherine II of Russia; rulers that would utilize their power to impose the rational reforms and ideals of the enlightenment. And the philosophers, of course, considered themselves to be the proper people to advise these enlightened leaders. Ironically, no French ruler was ever regarded by the French philosophers as enlightened. Traits generally shared by the enlightened despots included an authoritarian rule justified by usefulness to society, a secular outlook complemented by religious toleration, and impatience with custom and tradition, (Doyle 49-55). Whether the enlightened despots actually fulfilled the ideals in which they said they believed and of which the philosophers believed them capable is an issue that brings up much ambiguity and controversy, and allows for the redefining of Napoleon Bonaparte as among these enlightened despots of Europe and the 18th and ...