Coffee, Women, Racism

How did the Enlightenment change the way people thought about things?

Religion:

The way religion was viewed during the Enlightenment changed drastically due to the new emphasis on logic and reason. 

David Hume argued that miracles couldn't happen, showing how people valued logic over faith throughout the Enlightenment. Voltaire even said that God was just a clockmaker who created the world and then let things play out with no divine intervention- a drastic change from the earlier ideas of the Reformation, which emphasized Christ's suffering and death in order to save humanity (significantly more personal view on God before the Enlightenment). 

Race:

Racism really began during the Enlightenment. Prior to this time, the differences between races were denoted by nationality, not biology. During the Enlightenment, Carl Linnaeus began classifying plants and species from the New World and so they thought it would be a good idea to classify humans based on the different races. 

Enlightenment thinkers such as Immanuel Kant and David Hume said that whites were biologically superior to all other races. This new way of thinking meant that non-Europeans were "naturally" inferior as well as culturally inferior. This allowed them to justify the enslavement (which they even argued was beneficial) of Africans and Indigenous people in the American colonies. 

Women:

During the Enlightenment, views on women also shifted slightly. Similarly to the supposed "natural" inferiority of non-Europeans, women also became inferior in a biological sense. Their only purpose was to have children so that more men could be made. They were viewed as being physically and intellectually inferior to men. This viewpoint was not always held, however, as people like Marquis de Condorcet argued that men and women should have equal rights (a rare opinion during this time). Some women such as Mary Astell (author of A Serious Proposal to the Ladies) were even able to publish books encouraging women to "lead a life of the mind" and to form a women's college.

How did these new ways of thinking get around?

Coffeehouses:

Books and newspapers were still difficult to get copies of, especially for middle class people who could not afford them. Coffeehouses offered places where many people could meet and discuss current events and ideas. Foreigners could come to offer a broader worldview about life. While women were mostly excluded from joining in on conversation, they served as waitresses and could overhear current events. 

Salons:

Salons offered a place for the wealthy and elite to meet once a week to discuss findings and share research. These places were not meant for just any person, but instead for those who had accomplished something big during this time.