Eighteenth Century Studies: A Brief Introduction

Eighteenth century studies is mainly redrawing the boundaries of enlightenment philosophy; enlightenment has long been seen to have its own dark side; that is the instrumental use of reason to control and dominate rather than to emancipate.

 Three philosophers Locke, Hegel and Kant asserted their own visions of enlightenment, Locke emphasized on empirical judgment based on sensory perception. Hegel emphasized on dialectical criticism; as every thesis contains an anti thesis and both blend to give a synthesis, which is a continuous process. Kant balanced the view of both rationalists and empiricists by blending both philosophical concepts.

As mentioned in the text, the eighteenth century philosopher John Locke, in his work, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding wants to find the "horizon" which sets the bounds between the enlightened and dark parts of things. But the social theorists Durkheim and the recent revolutionary theorists Horkheimer and Adorno have seen the dark side of enlightenment philosophy than that of "enlightened" part; enlightenment overemphasized the instrumental use of reason, but that was not for liberation and emancipation rather for dominating and controlling others, that is the dark side fertilized.

 To revise the concept of enlightenment philosophy, the ideas of three philosophers should be critically examined or in some extent disregarded. The three philosophers are Locke, Hegel and Kant. Though the systematic revision is the product of latest theoretical development, but the foundation for these revisions would be incomplete without mentioning two revolutionary nineteenth century figures Nietzsche and Marx. They charged severely on western metaphysics and proclaimed the death of that metaphysics which was the main cause to bring anarchy and disharmony in the human world.

The recent Anglo-American development is turning mainly to recapitulate the "frame of reference" of enlightenment assumptions than that of investing the energy in critical analysis and John Bender, here, believes that the systematic revision is possible through latest Anglo-American critical developments i.e. New historicism, cultural materialism as well as feminism and to a lesser extent deconstruction too.

By quoting the reference of Anthony Giddens, John says that if knowledge is to escape tautology, it must conserve its own systems of reference and its own contemporaneity. Antonym Giddens brings the reference of positivist historicism and the Hegelian fiction; both of them are inadequate in Giddens' model. In the case of positivist historicists, the boundary of abstractive analysis is fixed because the relatively unimportant details are recapitulated ideologically within the historian's tacit assumptions. In the Hegelian model a theoretical system grabs the particular and predicates dissonant facts or changes them into abstract dialectical patterns. Giddens' this model is useful here not for a grand discussion rather to frame some reflections on the reception that  certain historically observant, theoretically alert modes of inquiry have received in American eighteenth century studies. John Bender focuses here three theoretical movements usually known as new historicism, cultural materialism and feminism in rewriting the literary history of the eighteenth century.

 Bender seeks for affinities among these movements than on their manifold differences, though the areas of interest of these movements are different. Bender aims to move away from content specific consideration of these movements toward the question of common systematic functioning.

These approaches had to come earlier to open the multiple possibilities to see the historical development of new perspectives, but these approaches have arrived belatedly in eighteenth century studies. The main reason for belatedness is due to the belated arrival of new historicism, to quote John Bender again "I close with some speculations about the new historicism as a symptomatic feature of the legitimation crisis under way in academic literary studies at large, a crisis, especially germane to the eighteenth century field because this period, more than only other produced the assumptions that have structured modern literary study."

 As John Bender mentions new historicism in the United States, cultural materialism in Britain, and feminism in both have provoked so much notice and hostility because they have changed the "frame of reference". They hay "denaturalized" and "transformed" into historic phenomena a range of assumptions fundamental to mid twentieth century Anglo-American literary study. In this essay too these new Anglo-American developments lay the groundwork for reviewing and reframing the four indicative Enlightenment categories:

  1. Aesthetic Autonomy
  2. Authorship
  3. Disinterestedness
  4.  Gendered sexuality

Browse 18th Century Studies

Notion of Power and Historical Development

How is Enlightenment Defined?

Four Assumptions of Enlightenment

18th Century Studies by John Bender

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