Influence of the Enlightenment

The Century of Light, otherwise known as the Enlightenment brought forth a strong emphasis on Reason and Knowledge. One product of the Enlightenment is the ideas and thoughts of Condorcet. Condorcets Sketch for a Historical Picture of The Progress of the Hu homo Mind is brought on by his strong belief in the Perfectibility of Humanity. In rational erect there are certain principals and laws that the cosmos works under, in rational order there is no change. alone Condorcet says that change is progress, and through progress, Humanity can be improved. According to Condorcet, the perfection of Mankind is attainable and for that reason he is goaded to lay down it.According to Condorcet and the beliefs of the Enlightenment, Reason, is innate in everyone. It is just a matter of using Education to bring it out to consciousness. Condorcet firmly believes that with proper education, a man can judge his own and other mens actions according to his own lights. (The 10th Stage, Pg. 182) With r eason, a man will also be able to jazz his rights and the power he has with them. He wants that a man will not be in a state of blind dependence (The Tenth Stage, Pg. 182).But one must keep in mind that it is not the goal of education to create a sm fine art-aleck so to speak, further a human be that is capable of Autonomy. And even then, not Autonomy of thought but rather Autonomy of Judgment How one should act. When a man reaches this state, he is enlightened. He is then a responsible and respectable citizen of society and thus, perfect. To Condorcet, it is simply a matter of proper education that is necessary for such outcomes.Equality is another sample that Condorcet mentions. Believing in the improvement of society, he questions the beginning of prejudices and divisions within the society, are these part of civilization itself, or are they due to the present imperfections of the social art? (The Tenth Stage, Pg. 174) Condorcet believes that we can progress beyond these impe rfections and not only have equality among men, but extend this equality with, the complete annihilationbetween the sexes (The Tenth Stage, Pg. 193). According to Condorcet, we must reach for equality until mankind is able to understand his rights and to exercise them in accordance with his conscience and his creed (The Tenth Stage, Pg. 174). With this equality Condorcet foresees a society in which pain and misery will not be the norm, but rather the exception to humanity.But to be enlightened is not the doctor goal of Europe, for how can a perfect society be reached if so many others are still struggling to find the light? This is why Condorcet tells us in his publication, that it is the job of those that are enlightened to shed light to the others. Foreign countries are referred to as obstacles impeding this revolution (the Tenth Stage, Pg. 175). Therefore, the final step in comer perfection would be to colonize and educate the savages so that Perfection of Mankind may be finall y reached.Colonization is imperative in the eyes of Condorcet, but not for any personal or financial gain. Because the Europeans have found the light it seems irrelevant for the other countries of the world to go through trial and error to reach this same level of enlightenment. Instead, colonization should take place and the savages should be transformed from the conquered into those in tutelage. In this way, the perfection of Humanity is speeded forward towards completion.