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The Enlightenment that Failed: Ideas, Revolution, and Democratic Defeat, 1748-1830
The Enlightenment that Failed explores the growing rift between those Enlightenment trends and initiatives that appealed exclusively to elites and those aspiring to enlighten all of society by raising mankind's awareness, freedoms, and educational level generally. Jonathan I. Israel explains why the democratic and radical secularizing tendency of the Western Enlightenment, after gaining some notable successes during the revolutionary era (1775-1820) in numerous countries, especially in Europe, North America, and Spanish America, ultimately failed. He argues that a populist, Robespierriste tendency, sharply at odds with democratic values and freedom of expression, gained an ideological advantage in France, and that the negative reaction this generally provoked caused a more general anti-Enlightenment reaction, a surging anti-intellectualism combined with forms of religious revival that largely undermined the longings of the deprived, underprivileged, and disadvantaged, and ended
by helping, albeit often unwittingly, conservative anti-Enlightenment ideologies to dominate the scene.
The Enlightenment that Failed relates both the American and the French revolutions to the Enlightenment in a markedly different fashion from how this is usually done, showing how both great revolutions were fundamentally split between bitterly opposed and utterly incompatible ideological tendencies. Radical Enlightenment, which had been an effective ideological challenge to the prevailing monarchical-aristocratic status quo, was weakened, then almost entirely derailed and displaced from the Western consciousness, in the 1830s and 1840s by the rise of Marxism and other forms of socialism.
by helping, albeit often unwittingly, conservative anti-Enlightenment ideologies to dominate the scene.
The Enlightenment that Failed relates both the American and the French revolutions to the Enlightenment in a markedly different fashion from how this is usually done, showing how both great revolutions were fundamentally split between bitterly opposed and utterly incompatible ideological tendencies. Radical Enlightenment, which had been an effective ideological challenge to the prevailing monarchical-aristocratic status quo, was weakened, then almost entirely derailed and displaced from the Western consciousness, in the 1830s and 1840s by the rise of Marxism and other forms of socialism.
1082 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 2020
30 people are currently reading
374 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan I. Israel
55 books160 followersJonathan Irvine Israel is a British writer on Dutch history, the Age of Enlightenment and European Jews. Israel was appointed as Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the School of Historical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey, in January 2001. He was previously Professor of Dutch History and Institutions at the University of London.
In recent years, Israel has focused his attention on a multi-volume history of the Age of Enlightenment. He contrasts two camps. The "radical Enlightenment" founded on a rationalist materialism first articulated by Spinoza. Standing in opposition was a "moderate Enlightenment" which he sees as profoundly weakened by its belief in God. In Israel’s highly controversial interpretation, the radical Enlightenment is the main source of the modern idea of freedom. He contends that the moderate Enlightenment, including Locke, Voltaire, Montesquieu, and Rousseau, made no real contribution to the campaign against superstition and ignorance.
In recent years, Israel has focused his attention on a multi-volume history of the Age of Enlightenment. He contrasts two camps. The "radical Enlightenment" founded on a rationalist materialism first articulated by Spinoza. Standing in opposition was a "moderate Enlightenment" which he sees as profoundly weakened by its belief in God. In Israel’s highly controversial interpretation, the radical Enlightenment is the main source of the modern idea of freedom. He contends that the moderate Enlightenment, including Locke, Voltaire, Montesquieu, and Rousseau, made no real contribution to the campaign against superstition and ignorance.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 11, 2020
If it's not broken, don't fix it. If you can't fix it, don't break it.
Spinoza, with purpose, motivation, inspiration 'til then unforeseen, since then unparalleled – forging a path never before taken philosophically, psychologically, or spiritually – found himself, certainly not through any manner of self-proclamation, but ordained so by historical time and place, a prophet – The Prophet of Enlightenment.
Having removed himself from every prior and then current context of comfortable belonging and consensus, with unassailable brilliance and indomitable courage, defying all urgings but the singular one of his calling, he single-mindedly, as it were, realigned the universe vis-à-vis humanity.
So thorough and incontestable were his logic, his compassion, his method, the world was shaken. Who is this prophet who is not our own? Fearful for the continued leisure of their long accustomed and accepted conventionality, they took offense, and the debate began.
Just because one is offended, does not mean that she or he is right.
And here we are again, on the eve of destruction. The world is a mess. We need a new enlightenment. We need a new prophet. We need a new Spinoza.
Spinoza, with purpose, motivation, inspiration 'til then unforeseen, since then unparalleled – forging a path never before taken philosophically, psychologically, or spiritually – found himself, certainly not through any manner of self-proclamation, but ordained so by historical time and place, a prophet – The Prophet of Enlightenment.
Having removed himself from every prior and then current context of comfortable belonging and consensus, with unassailable brilliance and indomitable courage, defying all urgings but the singular one of his calling, he single-mindedly, as it were, realigned the universe vis-à-vis humanity.
So thorough and incontestable were his logic, his compassion, his method, the world was shaken. Who is this prophet who is not our own? Fearful for the continued leisure of their long accustomed and accepted conventionality, they took offense, and the debate began.
Just because one is offended, does not mean that she or he is right.
And here we are again, on the eve of destruction. The world is a mess. We need a new enlightenment. We need a new prophet. We need a new Spinoza.
August 21, 2024
Jonathan Israel taught in my department when I was an undergraduate, and I failed three times to get onto his course on the history of political thought. This book has helped me understand a little of what I missed out on - the culmination of 30+ years of his development of "the Radical Enlightenment thesis", which puts Spinoza firmly at the heart of modern Western thinking. It's largely a (loooong) summary of these arguments, as well as a response to their (many) critics.
But it's not just a lengthy defence of a thesis - it's also an intriguing overview of the entire Enlightenment and revolutionary era (more or less up to 1848 and the publication of the Communist Manifesto, despite the title claiming it stops in 1830), transcending most of Europe and both sides of the Atlantic along the way. With a scope this broad, it's deeply impressive how much detail Israel gets into - it's easy to lose the flow with all the digressions - but it also makes it a handy non-linear summary of a particularly complex and confusing period.
A pretty impressive achievement, in other words.
In the introduction, Israel says you need to have read most of his other books to make sense of this one. I disagree - I think this is an excellent introduction to his ideas and arguments. I have several other big chunky books by Israel - Radical Enlightenment, Democratic Enlightenment, Enlightenment Contested, and his history of the Dutch Republic - sitting on the shelf, waiting to be properly read. One's been there for nearly 25 years, and I've barely made a dent in it, as I found it too daunting. Thanks to this book, I'm going to have another stab.
Dense, intense, but fascinating.
But it's not just a lengthy defence of a thesis - it's also an intriguing overview of the entire Enlightenment and revolutionary era (more or less up to 1848 and the publication of the Communist Manifesto, despite the title claiming it stops in 1830), transcending most of Europe and both sides of the Atlantic along the way. With a scope this broad, it's deeply impressive how much detail Israel gets into - it's easy to lose the flow with all the digressions - but it also makes it a handy non-linear summary of a particularly complex and confusing period.
A pretty impressive achievement, in other words.
In the introduction, Israel says you need to have read most of his other books to make sense of this one. I disagree - I think this is an excellent introduction to his ideas and arguments. I have several other big chunky books by Israel - Radical Enlightenment, Democratic Enlightenment, Enlightenment Contested, and his history of the Dutch Republic - sitting on the shelf, waiting to be properly read. One's been there for nearly 25 years, and I've barely made a dent in it, as I found it too daunting. Thanks to this book, I'm going to have another stab.
Dense, intense, but fascinating.
November 8, 2024
This audiobook is literally longer than the version of "War & Peace" which sits right next to it in my Audible library. And no, that's not a compliment. Because after the first 20+ hours, I was begging for the sweet release that only death can bring!
Of course, the irony is that the actual content of the book is incredibly insightful, well-written and a vital resource for any students of the history and/or political philosophy of the period. But why the publisher chose to release this monstrosity as a single volume rather than breaking it up into at least 6, I will never understand. Whatever the poor Voice Artist who was required to talk for almost 61 hours was paid, it wasn't enough. And in short, don't even contemplate reading this book as a single volume unless you have 6 weeks worth of provisions, oxygen tanks and a team of sherpas to aid your ascent. But instead, regard it as a reference library; jumping between chapters as necessary.
Of course, the irony is that the actual content of the book is incredibly insightful, well-written and a vital resource for any students of the history and/or political philosophy of the period. But why the publisher chose to release this monstrosity as a single volume rather than breaking it up into at least 6, I will never understand. Whatever the poor Voice Artist who was required to talk for almost 61 hours was paid, it wasn't enough. And in short, don't even contemplate reading this book as a single volume unless you have 6 weeks worth of provisions, oxygen tanks and a team of sherpas to aid your ascent. But instead, regard it as a reference library; jumping between chapters as necessary.
October 8, 2024
Incredible intellectual history, and the last installment of a multi-volume work on the Enlightenment, covers the last period of this era. Though this is a vast and complex history, what comes to the foreground is the interaction between three dominant intellectual forces: moderate Enlightenment expressed in "aristocratic" (= classical) republicanism, radical Enlightenment expressed in a significant distancing from religious authorities and institutions and a promotion of "democratic" (= radical) republicanism, and counter-Enlightenment, which resists the tendencies of both moderate and radical varieties of Enlightenment impulse. While I decided to read this volume first, since this is the period I am most interested in, the thoroughness and depth of analysis warrants reading the earlier volumes, though, given the length of each, it may take some time to get to them.
June 11, 2023
A great reconsideration of the Enlightenment as a period of progressive ideas that is its own undoing.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews