The American experiment and the French Revolution were driven by sundry causes, but among them were the deep currents of the Enlightenment, the greatest period in the history of the western world in my humble opinion. The intellectual shackles of the Middle Ages had finally been broken. With the new, highly productive printing presses came a feverish wave of of citizens everywhere racing to learn how to read. Then came three 'bestseller' books that would challenge the intellectual shackles of oppressive religion and authoritarian rule.
Early on these three great 'bestsellers' circulated among the newly literate peoples of the Western World. These were the first books of their kind. These slim little volumes were 'On Liberty' by John Stuart Mill, 'The Age of Reason' by Thomas Paine, and 'Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion' by David Hume.
Mill offered a lucid, clear, completely understandable exegesis of political liberty and its role in human happiness and growth. Paine offered the first popular exegesis of rationality. His book would become one of the first bestsellers in the history of publishing. There was a mad scramble throughout the Western World by newly literate masses to buy and read Thomas Paine. The reading and thinking and discussing of new ideas exploded all over Europe and America.
Paine became famous. His exposition of rational thinking was a stunning novelty for the average citizen. It opened eyes to new thoughts, new knowledge, and the intoxicating power of reason and clear vision.
The complete ascendancy of a severe, brutal, cruel Christianity during the Dark Ages was in retreat. For the first time in centuries religious doctrines were being openly questioned and challenged. Religion soon found itself cornered and defending itself with what has been called the 'natural religion argument'. The great beauty and amazing workings of nature supposedly proved the existence of The Deity and his great powers.
Then along came David Hume and his 'Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion'. The walls of the the natural religion fortress were about to come tumbling down. Seldom in history has any doctrine been as thoroughly shredded as it was in a slim volume written completely in the form of dialogues in the tradition of the ancient Greek philosophers.
I believe that trio of books formed what was the great trilogy of the Enlightenment. Huge numbers of newly literate citizens of America and Europe read those books. These citizens almost overnight formed new world views that would eventually lead to the downfall of monarchical rule and the creation of assemblies representing the people and their needs.
Kings and popes could no longer intellectually enslave their subjects. With three slim volumes sitting on countless bookshelves in American and Europe, a whole new world view emerged that would fuel the revolt against authoritarian rule by hereditary nobility.
Among the American colonies, the great trilogy was read and discussed and reread and re-discussed at meetings and through correspondence. Through three different little books, the minds of citizens had been freed from the constraints of religion, authoritarianism, and the shackles of unreason.
I read those three books in the middle of the 20th century, and their impact on my young mind was huge. I cannot imagine how powerfully they must have impacted the minds of citizens during the flowering of the Enlightenment. Even today, these three works offer new insights and enlightenment to those young minds who somehow are led to discover these three treasures.
When I was a freshman at the University of Minnesota, I signed up for a class in the Humanities Program. The course description seemed exciting to me. Among the books that were to be read was 'The Age of Reason' by Tom Paine. Somebody told me he was a nonbeliever, which intrigued me because I had never read a book by a fellow nonbeliever. I figured they were as scarce as hen's teeth.
Alas, on the first day of class the instructor announced that the Catholic Church had exerted huge pressure on the Minnesota State Legislature to force the U of M to ban 'The Age of Reason'. Since the legislature controlled the purse strings for the U of M, the president of the U caved and banned the book. It was one of my first lessons in conflict sociology and my first inkling of a current in American culture that was very dark and dangerous.
I had already bought my copy, so I raced to read it. At that time, I thought it was one of the greatest books I had ever read. That it would never be discussed in class or lectured on was hugely disappointing to me.
The struggle still goes on. The great trilogy is still being published and read. I noticed that Amazon is selling Mill and Hume together in a package; ergo, there are those who are still reading the great trilogy. If you know of any young people with inquiring minds, buy these three slim books and present them for a high school graduation gift (secretly if prudence so dictates). If they are college students, give the trilogy as a gift for whatever occasion, perhaps May day.
Following the Dark Ages, the Enlightenment was desperately needed. And yes it flowered for a time. Slavery, genocide, imperialistic warfare, predatory capitalism, and a resurgence of religious power in civil affairs would, however, eventually deflower that greatest blossoming of human thought and reason.
I nonetheless take some measure of comfort in the birth and short life of the Enlightenment. If it could arise out of the horrendous Dark Ages, then there surely is reason for hoping we might one day see that era experience a Promethean resurgence.
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May 30, 2008 Franklin’s Focus 2/15/08. Richard Franklin is the Publisher-author of Franklin's Focus, a daily opinion piece and the author of 'The Mythology of Self Worth; Using Reason to Dispel the Fallacies that Trigger Needless Anxiety, Depression, and Anger'
